Destiny Still Awaits
by cyndrarae
Summary: What happened to Chris, a journey through life, death, insanity. Sorry if this pops up as updated. Just making some corrections. RL is tough, sorry, but I promise you this isn't abandoned. I will complete it.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Destiny Still Awaits

**Summary: **What happened to Chris after he died. This is my take on what happened at the end of Season 6.

**Spoilers: **Season 6.

**Rating: **PG-13

**Author's Notes: **Sentences in italics are Chris' thoughts, this is mostly his POV. Warning for language. And umm, I'm sure I got the whole time travel thingie upside down but hey, just play along will ya ;)

**Feedback: **Yes Please!

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All color drained out of his face alongwith most of the blood from his body. So friggin' cold in here. Breaths shallow and desperate… the boy panicked with every tug at his heart he felt so vividly and painfully. Which breath would be his last? Which moment would be his final moment in existence? And would that moment come before Leo did?   
  
"Dad…"  
  
His voice carried hardly above a gasping whisper. There was no way he could see mom anymore… she was too occupied(literally) with the Chris who actually belonged in this timeline. Who deserved to be alive in this timeline. The youth feared his last precious seconds would be filled with bitterness at the general unfairness of it all. He couldn't hold his ****_own_ pregnancy against his _own_ mother damnit.   
  
But oh how it hurt to think of her! What if he never saw her again? What if they did change the future for the good and Piper was still alive in his time but he himself was dead? That shouldn't be… that couldn't be because that would just… really really suck. His breath hitched with silent sobs.   
  
_No matter what… let mom be alive, please God let mom be alive.  
  
_There was a buzz of indiscernible noises in the background but it didn't matter. He thought he heard his aunt Paige, but he couldn't be sure. He knew Leo had to go find Wyatt. Regardless of what happened to him, it was imperative Wyatt be saved from Gideon or the trauma the little boy suffered would be returned a hundred fold back on everyone else. The world would have to pay for Gideon's sins. Wyatt had to be saved… for the future's sake.   
  
For Wyatt's sake.   
  
_Save my big brother dad… so what he loathes the sight of me and would gladly skin me alive.  
  
_When Chris undertook the task to come back to the past, he accepted the fact that he may be expendable in this war for the greater good. He'd accepted it, embraced it even. But now that the end was near… he realized it was not so easy to accept let alone embrace death at all. He wanted to live damnit! In any timeline, it didn't matter. He'd fought for his right to survive so many times now he'd lost count. Surely he'd prevail this time as well?   
  
_You're gonna be okay you hear me?_  
  
Chris held on, struggled to… hold on.   
  
_Yes daddy, I hear ya… but do you hear me?  
  
_The bed was soaked in blood. His blood, Piper's bed, his mother's bed… his mom's room. He could still smell her sweet magnolia scent on the pillow, on the wet sheets… he'd missed this scent so much. He could hear his heart slowing down, which was quite a feat given he couldn't hear anything else that was going on around him. Through a thick haze, he imagined men in black hoods and black jackets with guns in hand…   
  
Had they come to shoot him down?   
  
Too late dudes, evil Elder guy beat you to it. Everyone wants a piece of me, he managed to smile wryly to himself. Target eliminated, game over.   
  
Man he'd miss his video games so much.  
  
"Chris…"  
  
Leo's here! At least he wouldn't die alone, he didn't want to die alone.   
  
"hey…"  
  
"Its okay, I'm here now… I'm here."  
  
That soft voice, so much love. Chris had been such a brave boy up until this very moment. He had held on, just like his daddy had asked him to. He was holding on so hard because he feared he would never ever hear that voice again. And now that he had, it broke him.  
  
_Daddy, I'm so scared… I don't want to die…  
  
_The words were right there, frozen cold on the tip of his tongue but they wouldn't come. Why wouldn't they come?  
  
Leo gripped his hand tight, caressed his sweat drenched brow lightly. Chris could sense the whitelighter trembling with contained rage and tears himself. He felt immense sadness for his father – such helplessness… how wretched must he feel?  
  
In that moment, all his bitterness vanished. His pain and fear lessened. Chris used to think he hated his father. And what he abhorred the most was the fact that despite everything, he _loved _him just as much as he hated him! But now in this final moment… he knew he'd never hated Leo at all… ever. Chris loved his dad, just as much as Leo loved his son and the hitherto estranged son knew that now. No matter what happened, in this world or another – even Evil Leo loved his evil son Chris damnit.  
  
_Da-daddy…   
  
_How long he'd yearned to say that word. And yet no words would come. He had no energy, no breath left anymore.   
  
Oh but he couldn't leave without saying something! He had to… he had to tell Leo that he loved him, and mom and baby Wyatt… so much. That he was sorry he was such a nuisance, and that he broke them up… that he was dying. He was very sorry because he knew Leo would never forgive himself.   
  
_Its not your fault dad… please don't blame yourself… you need to move on, you need to…  
  
_"You just hold on okay? Just hold on… don't you dare give up!"  
  
If Leo was still holding his ice hand, he couldn't feel it anymore. If his heart was still beating, he couldn't hear it anymore. What a shame, he was just getting used to the rhythmic beat beat… beat.   
  
Chris drew his final breath.  
  
"you either."  
  
Everything went white, then black. Chris wasn't cold anymore.

(TBC)

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	2. Chapter 2

Cyn: as before... full sentences in italics are Chris' thoughts. Do lemme know what you think?

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Light as a feather, heavy as lead… he was floating, no he was falling. The darkness clawed at him, the brightness stung his eyes… his eyes? Were they open? Were they closed? Chris didn't know. He didn't know where he was, or _what_ he was anymore.   
  
Was he dead? Was this heaven? If yeah, it sure was a conflicting place to be and honestly… you'd expect the powers that be to have spent a tad more on interiors. On the other hand if this was hell… hell, this was so like a major letdown… not scary at all… not judgemental in the least.   
  
So… so like morphine… sweetest sensations coursing through his(lifeless?) limbs coupled with tingling pricks all over. The insanely beautiful yet utterly horrifying feeling like he was slowly fading… dissolving into nothing but pure… white… light.   
  
_Look mom, no hands!  
  
_All the boy knew was that he couldn't control it… couldn't stop himself from floating… nor falling. As if he didn't belong in his own body anymore… like he was merely _trapped_ inside… and his soul struggled frenziedly to break free of the bonds of flesh and bones…  
  
Only, it couldn't.  
  
One moment he was massless and formless and on the verge of distintegration, next moment or maybe an eternity later… he was being reformed, re-amalgamated? A powerful force… no a gentle, gentle stranglehold surrounded his chest and neck and he had absolutely no strength nor the inclination to resist. Sacred chants in baritone voices echoed inside him and all around him in the steadily receding darkness… pulling him out as if from deep water and onto dry land.   
  
Weightless… he felt large and small all at once…   
  
lost and found at last…   
  
And then he was being poked and prodded, tugged at and arranged… picked up then laid down…   
  
Held and kissed.He was being… called back from the dead.A painful gasp escaped his quivering lips just before his eyes flew open in shock and wild fear. His hands flew directly to where the gaping hole in his gut should have been from the cursed athame, but all they connected with was… a perfect six pack?  
  
"Easy… easy baby. I got you Chris."  
  
Chris!   
  
He was still Chris! Not some floating translucent dollop of ectoplasmic goo, even though his insides might be very close to fit that description. His doe eyes were still unfocussed, everything was terribly blurred and he could hear someone convulsing extremely noisily. And it sure sounded painful. Took a while to sink in that he was the one responsible himself.  
  
"Shh… you're okay. You're alright."  
  
And this is when the soft voice registered amid the loud crashing of waves in his ears. That voice… that soft voice, so much love.   
  
Warmth rushed to the colder places in his very much beating again heart as he realized whose arms held him so possessively. The bed was the same, just not as bloody… the room was the same, though it was still spinning. The pain in his middle was alleviated with every stroke of a large plush hand circuiting his back. Up and down… up and down.   
  
Another arm held him securely in place against a warm chest. Tender kisses peppered the overgrown mass of brown bangs on top of his head making him smile in a daze. He didn't realize he was sobbing until the arms began rocking him back and forth… back and forth.   
  
"Shh little one… its okay, you're home now…"  
  
He was home? He was breathing, he was alive! And he had a voice box, he _hoped_. The words could come now, yes they could. And Chris refused to hold them back this time. He sniffed into the black fabric underneath his face.  
  
"Daddy…"  
  
A gentle chuckle rumbled in the chest he rested on.   
  
"Close."Close?His mind was still having trouble keeping up, so while he had an inkling there was something seriously _off _about the response he'd just received… he couldn't say exactly what. And then the rocking paused, the pressure of lips on his temple ceased and Chris realized this was his cue to look up.   
  
And look up he did.  
  
There it was again, the joy-filled… amused little chuckle in a voice so like Leo's…   
  
but not Leo's.   
  
Chris froze. His eyes widened and his pulse throbbed at the left corner of his temple as he struggled to gasp out the singular word."Wyatt?"  
  
"Who else?"

(TBC)

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	3. Chapter 3

**Cyn: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! You guys are so sweet, thanks ever so much :) Hope the next parts dont disappoint.. dont worry, no Bianca :) And I'm sorry if my writing is a little confusing - I think things should get clearer in the 2-3 parts.

* * *

To say Christopher Wyatt-Haliwell was stunned would be an understatement. Reflexive instincts of self-preservation prompted him to try and put as much distance between himself and the other but a much stronger Wyatt refused to let his weakened frame go.   
  
Chris struggled.  
  
"Hey! Hey! Take it easy, I'm not gonna hurt you…"  
  
Across the grave and back, thank God Chris still had his cynicism in tact.   
  
"Forgive me if I find that a _little_ hard to believe."  
  
And this time when he pushed against Wyatt, the older man let him go. Chris fell against the bed without a sound and he pushed himself up in sitting position before crawling backwards and away. The expression of hurt that came over Wyatt's face was even more scandalizing to him than ever. _That_ look on _that_ face was as unfamiliar to Chris as the gentleness displayed not two seconds ago.   
  
Chris looked around himself – Piper's bedroom alright. The décor was different though, more… minimalistic than he remembered it to be. If this was the future, wasn't this place converted to a museum?  
  
"Where… where am I? _When_ am I?"  
  
Wyatt raised his hands as if to show he was unarmed and meant no harm.  
  
"You're home Chris. Where you belong. Where you're supposed to be."  
  
Chris hyperventilated. Wasn't he supposed to be _dead_?   
  
"I… I don't understand. How? Why?"   
  
Seeing the pale boy tremble with confusion, Wyatt tried to approach him but again, Chris shrank away. Wyatt, visibly disappointed, backed away.  
  
"I know we have lots of things to talk about but right now you need to rest. You lost a lot of blood, you're weak still. Chris just let me…"  
  
"Leo!! LEO!!!"  
  
While Wyatt was talking in boring long sentences, Chris started testing his powers and realized he couldn't move anything telekinetically. In his growing panic, he tried orbing out. And that didn't work either. That was it! He started screaming long before Wyatt could finish what he was saying and the latter winced.   
  
"Chris calm down!"  
  
Months ago, Chris would never have called for his father even if he were dying. But he wasn't thinking about that right now. Right now, he just continued to call for the one person he'd grown to depend on, and knew would save him from… from Wyatt.  
  
"LEO!!!"  
  
In a flash, Wyatt had bounded up on the bed and to where Chris sat hunched away from the one person he deemed his mortal enemy. Chris was unprepared and tried to run but Wyatt was on him in an instant. He held Chris's wrists in his hands when the latter tried to throw a punch at him and pushed him down onto the bed.   
  
"Lemme go! LEO!!"  
  
"Stop it right this instant Christopher! What the hell is wrong with you?"   
  
"Get the fuck away from me!"   
  
If at some vague level Chris was at all considering that this Wyatt was quite possibly a changed Wyatt from a changed future… he wasn't too convinced. He had been burned before. He was not about to take any chances and with all his powers gone, things were so not looking good. He needed someone to confirm that things were alright with this world. And he needed Leo because he sure as hell wouldn't trust anyone else.  
  
Wyatt huffed in confusion and let go, resting back on his knees and wondering what the best way would be to approach this… truly awkward situation. He tried reasoning first.  
  
"You'll hurt yourself Chris if you don't calm down. I don't know what side-effects this spell can have so will you please just take it easy for a minute?"  
  
"What spell? What did you do to me?"  
  
Wyatt had the cheek to roll his eyes.   
  
"What the fuck do you think?"  
  
Chris' eyes widened assuming the very worst. Wyatt had stripped him of his powers!   
  
Again!   
  
"LEO!!!!"  
  
"Why are you calling for Leo? Have you forgotten?"  
  
_Have you forgotten?_  
  
_What have I forgotten?  
_  
After a second of processing what Wyatt just said, Chris… just… crumbled.   
  
Dying was an experience he could safely say he didn't much enjoy. And yet he prefer to die a hundred times over but _this_… this he simply couldn't bear. This couldn't be happening.   
  
_No, please no… _  
  
No voice left his throat though his lungs were working in overdrive. Hot sharp tears flooded his eyes and mouth and pretty soon he was in danger of choking himself.   
  
"Damn it Chris!"  
  
The evil monster was attempting to smother him again. Why Wyatt insisted on holding him so tenderly was beyond Chris but really, in that moment… everything was beyond Chris. What had he done? How the hell had the future become worse than it was before?   
  
"It cant be… it cant be…"  
  
"What cant be?"  
  
The demon had the gall to taunt him? He couldn't stand it, he just couldn't. The blood-curdling scream that escaped the boy's mouth horrifed Wyatt beyond all expression. Where the boy found the stamina to fight as much, Wyatt couldn't tell. He was having a full-blown panic attack now and nothing Wyatt said could pacify him. He had no idea why Chris suddenly got that violent.   
  
With nothing else to do, Wyatt let go of Chris, drew back his right hand and then let it swing… straight into his baby brother's face.

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(TBC) : sorry this is short! Next one should be better... 


	4. Chapter 4

**Cyn:** Thank you to all who reviewed! I know everyone seems to be writing their own versions of what happened to Chris and its fast getting old :p... but i still hope you continue to read this through.

I tend to write what I want to read myself.... but knowing someone else likes it too just makes the effort so so much worth it! Its even making me write faster ;)

Umm still confusing is it? It should get better now... i think :)

* * *

"Chris… I'm so sorry I hit you. Talk to me please?"  
  
The boy in question continued to quietly weep, crouched in one corner of the bed while Wyatt sat beside him, now actually afraid to touch him.   
  
"What happened to you? Chris talk to me…"  
  
Chris was in no mood to respond. The death of his father was too much to deal with right now. Through painful tears, he looked around the place… his mom's bedroom but none of her stuff was here. Her scent was long gone.   
  
Nothing had changed, if at all – his going back to the past seemed to have made things worse because not even an aloof Elder _excuse_ for a father was alive anymore.   
  
He could only assume Wyatt was playing another of his evil games with him.

In his deep anguish, he surrendered all defiance… and did not even realize when Wyatt inched in closer, and gradually proceeded to hold him again. He did not protest. Maybe the boy needed to be held, even if it was by the evil all-powerful Wyatt. He had almost retreated into himself, once again hearing his heart beating atrociously loudly. Like he did while on his death-bed… back in the past.   
  
Beat Beat Beat…   
  
"Chris you… you wanted to talk to dad?"  
  
Chris stuttered on his next sob. Dazedly he raised his head from Wyatt's chest to look at him. The latter looked genuinely concerned about him. How could that be? And what the hell was he saying about dad?  
  
"You mean, like an Intervention?"  
  
Wyatt squinted at him in confusion.   
  
"Why would you need an… shit! Chris no!"  
  
And then it was the older brother's turn to look disgusted and angry.   
  
"Didn't I tell you what the Elders did _seven_ years ago? They thought Dad was spending way too much time here with us so they blocked us out of his range!"  
  
"Wha-what??"  
  
Wyatt had still been supporting the back of Chris' neck with his left hand. Now he tugged at his longish hair insistently.   
  
_And it didn't hurt at all.  
  
_"Duh! Only, we found a way to _unblock _us without them idiots ever tracin our calls. Dad wont hear you if you call him by name. He can only hear you when you call him 'Dad'! Don't you remember?"  
  
Beat.  
  
"So… he's alive?"  
  
"Still slow on the uptake I see. Good to know some things haven't changed."  
  
The look of relief flooding Chris' eyes was too intense to be missed. Wyatt smiled, with a big question mark on his face. He swiped at a stray tear from Chris' cheek just as he felt Chris finally relaxing and leaning back against Wyatt's broader frame. He experimentally rubbed the still tensed up spine, expecting Chris to sucker punch him any minute now.

The blow never came.  
  
"Yes he's alive kiddo. You really don't remember, do you?"  
  
"Who's slow on the uptake now?"  
  
Wyatt blinked. It was a happy blink.  
  
Chris would have smirked were he not still in stunned-mode. Was all that horseshit he just said really true? Or was the _source of all evil _mind-fucking him again?   
  
Wyatt shook his head and sighed. Then without looking away from Chris, he spoke out.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
Shimmering white pearls glowed in a distance, growing brighter and brighter until the brothers had to momentarily look away. When the shimmering stopped, there stood Leo – the Elder, smiling one instant… concerned the next.   
  
"Chris you look awful."  
  
Chris just stammered something totally unintelligible and Leo was at a loss.   
  
"Huh?"  
  
The next thing he knew, Leo was holding up a frail but definitely buoyed young man in his arms.   
  
"Hey… someone's happy to see me."  
  
Leo joked and clapped his younger son loudly on the back. That was usually a logical point to end hugs and the Chris he knew was _always_ eager to get out of one of those. But today… the boy was clinging to Leo like anything.  
  
Unfazed parent that he was, Leo just shook his head and indulged him for awhile. Then lost patience.  
  
"Okay that's enough… come here, lets take a look at you."  
  
And he gently pried Chris away from himself to hold him at arms distance. That was when he looked at his boy's teared up face carefully for the first time.   
  
Something… clicked, then fell into place.

Chris caught a fleeting moment of realization come over Leo's face but didn't pay much heed to it. He just continued to… be shocked and happy and relieved and speechless and missed the questioning look his father threw to his brother. Wyatt got up from where he'd sat on the bed and came to stand behind the duo.  
  
"It was just as you said dad. The spell alarms went off and he appeared out of nowhere on this bed… dead."  
  
Chris was also hearing the account for the first time but considering he was _there_, he shouldn't have been as shocked as he was. He looked at Wyatt to determine if he was telling the truth. There was nothing but open honesty on his face.   
  
Then he gaped at his father – his father was frowning but he sure didn't seem particularly surprised. Wyatt continued.   
  
"So then I revived him."   
  
It was said extremely casually. Chris wondered if there was any limit to his sibling's powers at all, if reviving the dead came this naturally to him. Actually, now that he thought about it, the Charmed ones used to do it almost on a weekly basis as well.  
  
"And then instead of thanking me for saving his sorry ass, _again _– he attacked me! Like I was demon spawn or somethin!"  
  
So vaguely amusing to hear that tone from the mighty Wyatt Haliwell, almost like... whining.  
  
Leo sighed, then smiled and put an arm around Chris' shoulder and led him back to the bed. Wyatt looked on with his arms folded.   
  
"How are you feeling Chris?"  
  
Dad was still here, and Wyatt had saved his life… apparently. Was he dreaming? Was he stuck in some comatose state, hanging between life and death? Past and future? 

Was he _totally _screwed?  
  
"I don't know dad, you tell me."  
  
This was it, Leo thought, the moment he'd waited for, for over twenty years.

Leo sat down next to his son, sighed heavily and began his story.

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(TBC)

Cyn: Oh jeez, there it is... should I post more? lemme know what you think. Pretty Please :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Cyn: **Hey everyone! Thanks for reviewing again:) Yes there are a lot of interesting questions and not just about time travel, but also about soul, and life and death, and what have you. Jeez its got me thinkin and that's never good :P I'm sure there are many many holes in my theory, but I hope you play along ;) Also, I've tried my best to convey my thoughts as clearly as possible... have patience children... all will be revealed in time :D

Please review? :)

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Leo sighed again.   
  
Looked at Chris, looked away… then looked at Wyatt and looked away again.   
  
"This happened twenty two years ago for me, but of course only moments ago for you. Back in the past… you showed up at the Manor to warn us and help us save Wyatt from… heck you didn't even know who it was you were supposed to fight."  
  
Leo softly chuckled at the memory, Chris waited.  
  
"All you knew was, that you had to save your brother… and you risked everything for it."  
  
Chris looked up to glance at Wyatt, who still stood rigid as a pillar with his arms folded in front of him. Picturing the little baby that he was, and for Chris only a few minutes ago… was very difficult. This man watching him so keenly… had lost his innocence somewhere on the way… Chris was sure of that.  
  
"Did I succeed?"  
  
"Yes you did son… you came through for Wyatt, for us all!"  
  
That's when Chris looked back to his dad, with amazement in his eyes.  
  
"But, you also lost your life in the end."   
  
Leo's voice almost broke as he uttered the last words.   
  
"I couldn't save you then."  
  
Chris was right, his father had indeed blamed himself for not being able to save his son and had tortured himself with it for all this time. Leo placed a hand on Chris' face and caressed his cheek with a thumb lightly.   
  
"Just like that, you vanished from my arms and for twenty two years we wondered what had happened to you."  
  
Chris sniffed, and bowed his head.  
  
"Two months ago, I told Wyatt the whole story…"  
  
Chris looked at Wyatt again, he knows?  
  
"And he created this spell…"   
  
Leo nodded to Wyatt to continue. The latter picked up the narrative without delay.  
  
"When someone dies out of their own timeline… their essence or soul is lost somewhere in between. We don't really know what happens to them actually."  
  
Chris smiled wryly.  
  
"Let me guess – loophole in the system?"  
  
Wyatt shrugged, and looked at his brother with sad affection.  
  
"Maybe, maybe not. We figured you got lost somewhere between the two timelines – the one that existed before and the one you affected and brought about – exactly at the time of your death – which also happens to be about the same time as your _birth_."  
  
Beat.   
  
Chris glared.  
  
"Today's your twenty secondth birthday by the way."  
  
Chris glared some more.  
  
"Happy Birthday."  
  
"Fuck off."  
  
Leo chuckled, Wyatt scowled and continued.  
  
"Fine, so you know the classic 'summoning a lost witch spell' right?"  
  
Chris nodded. He remembered aunt Paige telling him about this spell that his mom Piper used, to try and find Pru after she died. Only it found Paige instead.  
  
"I tweaked it a bit…"  
  
"Hah déjà vu."  
  
Chris remembered that is exactly what Gideon had said about the spell that was supposed to send him and Leo through the portal into the future.   
  
Wyatt raised an eyebrow, but no explanation seemed to be forthcoming.   
  
"Okay… whatever…"  
  
Leo quietly encouraged his oldest to ignore the interruption and go on.  
  
"I was _saying_… I just added criteria for searching in all time as well as space dimensions and set it up to keep running constantly in the background. We knew you disappeared from the manor so it would be easiest to summon you right back here. With me still?"  
  
Chris realized he was gawking a bit. Irritatedly he urged Wyatt to continue.  
  
"Just get on with it."  
  
Wyatt retorted with equal agitation.   
  
"Okay but for the record dad, I really don't like this version of Chris at all. What happened to the hero worshipping guy who borrows my clothes and my cars and my girlfriends and…"  
  
"Wyatt."  
  
Warning tone in Leo's voice. It suddenly occurred to Chris that his father hadn't changed at all, neither voice nor appearance. Figured, he was after all technically an angel. And thank God even as an Elder, he refused to _dress_ like one. Chris then turned to look at his infamous brother and this time he really looked.   
  
No doubt his brother was a devilishly handsome man, only one of the many reasons why Chris had felt inferior to him. The long glorious mane of hair still draped around his face but it was much neater. The blue eyes still shone with the immense power concentrated inside this being, but they didn't seem as manical anymore.   
  
And the smile… jeez Wyatt smiling?   
  
_All you need is a fucking halo_  
  
Wyatt cleared his throat and continued.  
  
"Yeah where was I? Right, when you died there in the past, the spell tracked you down and brought you here. I set up alarms to let us know when you were found, and they went off and I ran down here to get you… you were… as expected… dead."  
  
His voice dropped and Chris realized his brother had truly been disturbed by the incident.   
  
"You know the rest, I revived ya and you went _banshee_ on me and then I called dad."  
  
That made sense, somewhat.   
  
"You're probably really weak from the transition still, that's why your powers are down."  
  
Chris snorted. "Yeah, right."  
  
He still wasn't ready to accept Wyatt's apparent goodness… yet. What Bianca did to him in the past was painfully fresh in his mind.   
  
"We could check you up in a few hours time , see how you're doing?"  
  
Chris did not believe him, he just shook his head. Wyatt was trying, really he was. Unfortunately, he did not know the depths of bitterness and distrust the _other_ Wyatt had managed to seed in _this_ Chris.  
  
"So, if you guys hadn't found me and brought me here – I would have been… gone forever?"  
  
The other men in the room didn't answer, which said enough. Chris got up and went to stand by the window. Lost deep in thought.   
  
Leo spoke up.  
  
"What is it son?"  
  
"I was thinking, nothing had really changed by the time I was stabbed. Did you save Wyatt before I… before I died?"  
  
Leo sighed, past regrets overwhelming him.   
  
"No, I couldn't get to him soon enough."  
  
The wheels were turning in the boy's head. He would have ideally paced but was too spent for that.  
  
"Which means, I died in my _old_ timeline. And after you saved Wyatt and killed Gideon… you did kill that bastard didn't you dad?"  
  
"With my own hands."  
  
Leo's voice was so low he could barely be heard. Chris knew his family would have avenged his death.   
  
But there was something else, something much more alarming going through his head right now.  
  
"Dad, that means the future was changed _after_ I died. Which means… there must be a _new_ Chris in this new world."  
  
Chris' voice was low, but there was a growing panic in his eyes.   
  
What is this?  
  
Why is he always the one out of time and out of place?   
  
The one world he did belong to was gone forever and he wasn't too fond of it anyway. It was a bad, bad world… with evil rampant and good cowering in shadows of fear and misery and incomprehensible pain. But he was part of that world wasn't he? What if… what if he died because the world he belonged to was also destined to die anyway? That world did not deserve to be… so by inference, neither did he!

* * *

(TBC)

Kay I'm hoping people are still reading this. Do lemme know please??


	6. Chapter 6

**Cyndra**: Hey everyone.. thanks for reviewing! Sorry am not finding time to update sooner.. real life being a bitch and all. Kay my theories are still convoluted and this is still a conversation between the Charmed men of the Manor... but very near the end now..:) Hope you guys are still liking it? Please please let me know! Your lovely reviews keep my muses busy :)

Yep keeping this as Chris-centred as possible :D I'm so pissed he's not gonna be there on the show anymore (pouts) Writing is a great dealing mechanism :P

Hey Erin.. you're right about the seance and intervention thingie:) But I think on the show, they call it a magical intervention when they summon ghosts? Dunno, heard this word used on 'I dream of Phoebe'.. eep I could be wrong sorry! :)

* * *

Outside… the other man noticed something wasn't right.  
  
"Chris?"  
  
Leo got up and went to his son's side. Just as the boy saw his father approaching, his strength gave away and he started to slip to his knees. Wyatt moved towards him then but remembering how Chris shrank from his touch, he paused only a foot away. Leo was right there and he caught the boy who was now trembling violently, before he fell.   
  
"Gotcha… its okay son."  
  
He gathered Chris to himself and walked towards a couch nearby seeing the boy was too weak to stand any longer. Sitting down first Leo held Chris on his lap, never once letting go of his son even when Chris blushed, embarrassed at his new position.  
  
"Dad…"  
  
"shh baby boy, just let me hold you."  
  
"but…"  
  
"shh, its alright, its okay."  
  
It was just one of those days, the boy rued… when nothing was going to be in his power. Chris sighed and gave in, leaning his right side against Leo and trying desperately to stem the flood of tears gushing into his eyes.   
  
"Chris…? Tell me what you're thinking…"  
  
Chris focused his eyes just barely at Wyatt standing by his side.   
  
"What you've done is unnatural… its against the laws of nature."  
  
The men were confused.   
  
"You mean bringing you back? You've seen your aunts do that a thousand times back in the past. Its what the power is there for, to undo wrongs and save lives."  
  
"But… but…"  
  
"But what son? Every parent worries not just about their kids' present, their future as well don't they?"  
  
Chris swallowed, he couldn't find the words. How could he explain to his father he didn't think he deserved to be alive?  
  
"Technically you weren't dead, bcos you'd only just been born right? So you were not up there with Grams."  
  
Leo rubbed his back, as if willing some of his strength and calmness to seep through his hand and into his son.   
  
"Piper… she looked frantically for you everywhere… in all the spirit realms possible. It was killing us Chris… not knowing what had happened to our little boy."   
  
Chris took his time to compose himself, he had to say this.  
  
"Dad, this is not right. This is not m-my t-time or my p-place!"  
  
Leo could have shaken his son, he was so angry. But he also saw how miserable Chris was.   
  
"Chris… are you even listening to me?"  
  
The tears flowed unabated, and so did the words. Chris had to say this… he _needed_ to say this.  
  
"I am not supposed to _be_ anymore daddy… I am supposed to be gone, alongwith the rest of my timeline."  
  
He grasped at the open ends of his father's flannel, willing himself not to give in to the temptation of resting his head against his dad's chest and sleeping for an eternity.  
  
"The Chris that you know… t-that W-Wyatt knows… and l-loves as his b-brother…"  
  
His voice broke again…  
  
"He is out there somewhere. He b-belongs here… I d-don't."  
  
Leo hugged his son tightly, kissing his temple and gently rocking him to soothe his troubled soul. _Soul_… that was the crux of all this wasn't it? Leo looked imploringly at his other son… no one could really reach Chris except Wyatt. So what if this Chris did not remember it? He would listen to his big brother, he always did.  
  
The son in question… Wyatt… was smiling?  
  
"Well… Boo. Hoo."  
  
Chris was sobbing very very silently, there was hardly any sound. But _that_ just… totally shut him up. Slowly, he raised himself to look at Wyatt. Questioning him with his glassy eyes, although the question wasn't entirely clear to his own self.  
  
"I know what you're thinkin"  
  
Wyatt's eyes were twinkling. His tone… teasing. Chris' was soft, curious.  
  
"What…"   
  
"You're thinking, oh shit. Two of me again? Like the mighty big brother Wyatt wasn't enough to have to stand up against, now I gotta compete with me too??"  
  
Chris screwed up his eyes in subdued annoyance.  
  
"How come everything is always about _you_??"  
  
Wyatt laughed. Even Leo smiled making Chris look back at him with irritation. Wiping the remnants of the moisture from his face, he let go of his father and asked him sarcastically,  
  
"May I get up now?"   
  
"Please do."  
  
And he was off Leo's lap in a flash. Not as fast as he would have liked to be, considering he wasn't firing on all cylinders.  
  
Wyatt and his dad were only too happy to see some of the famous Christopher Wyatt Haliwell's patented fighting spirit kick back.  
  
"Don't worry, this is still about you Christopher."  
  
"And what exactly is _this_ Wyatt? Do enlighten me because you sure look smug enough in your all-pervading knowledge."  
  
Wyatt chuckled just a bit and took a step closer to Chris. Instinct drove the latter to step back, but he held his ground.   
  
"What do you know about the soul Christopher?"  
  
"Damn I knew I should have taken philosophy."  
  
Leo shook his head. His son always resorted to sarcasm as a defence mechanism.  
  
"Well you didn't, which means I have the honor of educating you."  
  
"What fun."  
  
"Chris…" Leo warned.   
  
"Sorry, go on."  
  
"You know that when a timeline changes, so do all the people with it. But you're wrong in assuming that a timeline or a world could just vanish… or cease to be! That's not how it works Christopher."  
  
"So you're saying the world is still here, only changed?"  
  
"YES. And with it you changed as well. No one else remembers but you did because you were not _in_ the timeline while it was changing."  
  
"Yeah I knew that would happen."  
  
Wyatt nodded.  
  
"You would have come back to this world and rejoined it with two sets of memories – the old ones from your previous life and the new ones from this one. Right?"  
  
"Uhh guess so… yeah."  
  
Wyatt came another step closer, and this time Chris did not even flinch.  
  
"The complication arose when you died back there. Leaving a portion of your soul lost between two worlds, two times! A new you was born with the rest of your soul. But the same soul Chris! No different."  
  
Chris stared, his lower kip quivering almost painfully.  
  
"No different?"  
  
Wyatt shook his head sadly, he so wanted to reach out and hold Chris but didn't.   
  
_Couldn't.   
_  
"No different kiddo. People die, mortal bodies get destroyed but the soul is eternal. It goes on. You were here with us all this time, just not _all_ of you. And… mom and dad knew that…"  
  
Chris completed the sentence… how he knew this, he didn't know.  
  
"… that somehow I wasn't complete."  
  
Leo and Wyatt looked at each other, they weren't sure how to answer Chris.  
  
"That a part of me was still stuck in an endless trance, in a place called nowhere… where I was floating and falling all at once."  
  
Wyatt touched his little brother's arm tentatively.  
  
"Chris, you okay?"  
  
He was. He wasn't. He didn't know.   
  
He was reliving the moments right after his death when he had felt like he almost disintegrated, almost but not quite… it was more like waiting to be disintegrated which was worse.   
  
Mankind is one stubborn species, fighting relentlessly for its right to exist… to survive… and simply refuses to go away quietly into the night.   
  
In the plane of nowhere – Chris had felt the ethereal wrenching of death versus the determined grasp of life all at once… and he'd been afraid.   
  
He'd been afraid he'd never know love… or friendship or brotherhood again. He'd been afraid he wouldn't hit another ball to the fence again. That he'd forget the taste of chocolate, of hot dogs, and sheesh kebabs and champagne he'd sipped once and not quite enough…   
  
But most of all, he had feared the inevitable… that hopelessness of not having a _choice_… of being slowly torn apart to shreds of nothing but white light… just before someone pulled him back from the brink.  
  
Wyatt… It was Wyatt… who pulled him back from the brink.

* * *

(TBC)

Cyn: Review? pretty please?


	7. Chapter 7

**Cyn**: Hey you beautiful people! Thank you thank you so much for reviewing:) You're keeping me going... i'm still sorting out stuff about time travel and life and death in my own head so... sorry X3! Maybe it will get clearer in this one?

Dragonfireceo.. Wyatt doesnt remember much and I sorta already wrote in that Leo told him about that _'tween time _only recently. But hmm, Wyatt havin flashbacks of the other Chris? That's an interesting idea :) Thanks! :D

Erin.. thanks for pointing out the error - jeez did u know wat a pain it is to edit chappies on ff.net? I'll fix it later ok :P

I THINK i answered most of the questions... sorry if I missed any? Big thank you to everyone for your kind words, you've made this worth it:) Okay, on with the story now... things are starting to make sense to our boy... but will he be able to trust this new-and-improved Wyatt?

* * *

He looked at his feet on the ground, yes they were still on the ground. With deliberate force, he held them there. A wave of giddiness came over him, and Chris had an acute suspicion it was less for exhaustion and more because of relief. Then just as suddenly he laughed. Short… barkish laugh, and just as soon it was gone and replaced with silence.   
  
Was he losing his mind?   
  
It had been twenty two long years since his _death_ by Gideon's athame. And yet, only moments for Chris himself! Blessed be… damn time dimensions and their damn paradoxes. He didn't know if he could have handled the _dissolving_ act any longer anyway. No wonder Einstein was half whacked. No wonder Nietzsche was totally whacked.  
  
He laughed again.   
  
"Maybe you should sit down."  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
After a moment of silence, Wyatt continued although he didn't need to. Chris now knew what the spell had been about.  
  
"Chris, the son that dad knows… the brother that I know, and love… he's you. Or you're him. Either way."   
  
Beat.  
  
"The spell… it brought back that part of you which was lost… and merged you together. Just the way it should have been, had you not died."  
  
_And I am grateful. But I wont tell you that._  
  
_I cant.  
_  
The words had frozen again.  
  
"Look at your clothes Chris… are these the ones you were wearing back in the past?"  
  
For the first time since his ordeal began, Chris looked down at himself. No… no they weren't. They were… too clean, too hep and… boy he sure had excellent taste in this world.  
  
_Leather pants?_  
  
Leo was observing the same garment and scrunched up his nose.   
  
"Do I want to know where you were tonight?"  
  
Almost automatically, an answer he didn't know he knew rose to Chris' lips.   
  
"I was at P3… celebrating with friends."  
  
The sudden rush of new knowledge… or rather… new memories… was mind-boggling to the boy. His family secretly reveled in the small victory.   
  
It was working!… the spell was working.  
  
Chris remembered something he didn't know he was supposed to remember.  
  
"You pulled me out of my own birthday party. I was just about to kiss this really hot girl."  
  
"Umm, sorry?"  
  
Then he remembered something else… vaguely.  
  
"Jazz night… Mahogany is playing."  
  
Leo brightened up. "Hey I love that guy."  
  
Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Not Kevin Mahogany dad. Jimmy, the son."  
  
"Oh. He good?"  
  
"Not as good as his old man but very good! Splendid on saxophone."  
  
"Sounds cool, I should check him out."  
  
"Yeah you should! You'll love him."  
  
"Can we get back to me please?" Beat. Wyatt and Leo turned to gape at Chris… slowly making up their minds as to what they needed to do to keep Chris in the present. _This_ present. They needed to behave exactly how they would… as if nothing had changed.  
  
"Ever the narcissist Christopher, this world or the next."  
  
"Don't tell me you got sibling issues with me in this world too."  
  
"Look who's talking!"  
  
"Break it up."  
  
Leo interrupted and the youngsters quit. Only they didn't.  
  
"He started it."  
  
"He started it."  
  
"Don't care, just _end_ it."  
  
The boys shut up but continued to glare at each other (though Wyatt's was an act) and Leo shook his head in mock resignation.   
  
"I think we've spent enough time _bonding_ for today huh boys? I'd like to get back to the council meeting before they realize I'm missing, you guys okay here?"  
  
"Wait you cant leave me here alone with… with…"  
  
Damn it old memories conflicting with new ones. Not good.  
  
Leo sighed.  
  
"Chris you don't have to resent your brother anymore. He is not evil here."  
  
"How can you be sure that he isnt?"  
  
"Hello, I'm right here!"  
  
"Alright you two!"  
  
The kids quieted again. After a prolonged silence, Leo spoke softly.  
  
"Chris, I _really _do need to go."  
  
For some reason, the thought of his dad leaving slammed his heart right back into his chest. The gravity of what he'd just been through came back to him full force.   
  
Chris panicked.  
  
"No dad please don't go!"  
  
Leo frowned at the change(again) in his boy and relented, for the time being. Chris walked back to the couch and this time sat beside Leo.   
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Nothing to be sorry about. It's a lot to take I can understand."  
  
Mentally Chris still didn't feel like the Chris of this time. The trauma of his past life and… well, death was simply too prevalent in his fragile mind. His hands shook with the intense-ness of it all, and he barely could contain another bout of insane laughter bubbling up in his throat.   
  
"dear God."  
  
He sighed and massaged his temples, they hurt. Leo tenderly placed his hand on his forehead and soon the pain was gone. Pity the healer could take his pain, but couldn't give him the peace he yearned for. Chris looked into his father's eyes…   
  
"Thanks, dad."  
  
_For everything._ __  
  
Leo smiled. He recognized the Chris he'd met and had several arguments with but nevertheless adored all those years ago.  
  
"Welcome home son. And thank _you_, for a better future."  
  
Chris clung to Leo a long time, suppressing tears. He raised his head to look at Wyatt who still stood composed, attentive… studying him keenly.   
  
Was there a look of admiration, perhaps even gratefulness in his blue eyes?   
  
He knew there was a lingering sense of distrust in his own and Wyatt could actually sense it as well. He was hurt by it, but was willing to give Chris a chance to grow out of it. Chris thought of how Wyatt had saved him and held him so lovingly that he'd actually mistaken him for Leo.   
  
_Daddy…_  
  
_Close._  
  
Were they close? Him and Wyatt? In this world? How the heck did that feel? Tentatively, he smiled at Wyatt. The most powerful wizard in the world gently smiled back. Chris saw his mother… he saw Piper in that face.   
  
This night had been full of shocks and surprises, one after another. Was Chris hoping for another surprise, a pleasant one? Perhaps… and so despite the very nagging feeling at the back of his cerebrum which said he already _knew_ the answer he seeked, Chris spoke… "Dad?"  
  
"Yes son."  
  
"So… where's mom?"

* * *

(TBC)

Cyn: Yeah I know, skirted round the issue of the Charmed sisters long enough.... no escape now hehe. (biting my nails off!)

Review please please please!


	8. Chapter 8

**Cyn: **Hey! Thank you so so much guys for reviewing:) I wonder what I would do if I logged in one day and didnt find any new reviews.. aargh :( okay i'm officially addicted! :D Slightly longer chapter today... hope you like? This is my version of the future of course... no attempts to be in sync with canon have been made :P

* * *

Leo slowly extricated himself from his son's desperate clasps and looked him in the eye.  
  
"I'm sorry Chris. But Piper…"  
  
Chris knew what he was going to say. He wished the earth would open and swallow him right now so he wouldn't have to hear the unforgiving truth. Leo sensed his son's growing distress, and left the sentence unfinished.  
  
"I'm so sorry."  
  
Wyatt lowered his head, ever the slightest frown gracing his flawless features. Either the man was _still_ very well accustomed to hiding his pain… or he was over it.   
  
And here he was hoping his big brother would give him another wonderful answer to allay his fears… another _happy_ answer.   
  
"I… how?"  
  
There was _no_ suitable answer.   
  
"You… you are supposed to be so powerful and all…"  
  
Wyatt did not look up.   
  
"Why… why didn't you do something?"  
  
"He wasn't here! We both weren't here Chris."  
  
But Chris had known that already. The men hadn't been there in his world too.  
  
"So then nothing changed did it."  
  
A long silence stretched as Leo got up and paced, and Wyatt continued to keep his distance and his head lowered. Chris shook his head in distress.  
  
"I should have warned you, back in the past… I should have…"  
  
"What's done is done. Besides, you were told not to divulge any of the future Chris, and you shouldn't have."  
  
Chris was yelling now.  
  
"You were supposed to be here! Why were you not here?"  
  
Leo looked away, Wyatt had turned to stone. There was not one indication he was even listening. What could the man possibly say?  
  
Memories from his old life and new one concurred for a change – Wyatt at sixteen was ever restless to kill demons and in haste had followed a lead which took him down to the Underworld. Leo got wind of it and went after him down where… where he couldn't be heard. The attack came fast and strong and while Paige and Phoebe were away at Magic School enrolling the girls _– god the girls… his cousins Pru and Patti!_   
  
_I miss you so much Pru. Where are you guys?_  
  
Chris shut his eyes tight and hugged himself with extreme desperation trying not to shake so much. What happened before had happened again… surreal images inside his head surfaced and he winced with physical pain.  
  
It was a decoy. The new Source had figured the only way to take out the Power of Three was to hit them individually. So he'd gotten Leo and Wyatt out of the way just when he knew Piper would be left alone at the Manor. Chris had only been fourteen and not powerful enough to save his mother. His mother… Piper had died a good death… fighting to save her son, to save the book… in the end she succeeded but she also lost her life.   
  
_Just like me…_  
  
Perhaps it was the fate of the Halliwells to die fighting. To be victorious but never staying alive long enough to see the glory. No goodbyes, no last words of comfort that Chris could offer his dying mother or even Piper could give to her grieving young… too young son.   
  
It was a bloody, messy death. Chris sat staring into nothingness. He felt numb. After everything that happened, everything he accomplished…   
  
In his anguished mind's eye, he could still see aunt Paige heartbroken and crying after she lost both Piper and her husband Richard… aunt Paige insane with insurmountable wrath… the bloody massacre the Halliwells left behind in the Underworld… aunt Paige finally succumbing to a nervous breakdown and being taken away to some undisclosed location for convalescing. And much much later, a somber aunt Paige returning to Magic School… as its new head.  
  
Only Chris knew what it'd taken him not to break down, every time he'd looked at a cheerful Paige back in the past… knowing what tribulations lay ahead of her.   
  
Pheobe fared relatively better since she had Jason and her daughters Prudence and Patricia to fall back on. Phoebe held herself together for the sake of the family… but two sisters down, she too was completely disillusioned, and she turned away from her destiny as a Charmed One forever. Pru and Patti were taken back out from Magic School and they'd never set foot in the Manor ever since.  
  
By killing Piper, the Source had truly destroyed the Power of Three forever.  
  
"Aunt Phoebe…" he softly enquired, as if to ensure.  
  
"Hong Kong. They never returned." Leo replied.  
  
"… and… aunt Paige…" she was always his favorite, and he hers…   
  
"Magic School."  
  
Chris laughed. Insanity surfacing again.  
  
"Nothing changed. Nothing fucking changed!"  
  
"Some things are meant to be Chris. They simply cannot be changed."  
  
Chris couldn't distinguish Leo's voice from Wyatt's anymore. Though Wyatt hadn't spoken once since the subject of his mother's death had come up.  
  
Leo continued to pace but kept a watchful eye on his youngest and Chris noticed. He then remembered his father was an angel – he could see mom any time he wanted. They were probably closer now than when she was alive, being together in paradise and all…  
  
_Well that's great… but it still sucks she's dead._  
  
And then he froze… she's dead… it also meant…  
  
_oh God… Wyatt!_  
  
His hands grew clammy and forehead drenched in cold sweat. Chris slowly glanced up to look at Wyatt through guarded eyes… the man who was The Source… where he came from. Time lost all meaning to the boy as frantic paranoia clouded all his senses.   
  
All he could see was Wyatt and his smirking face as he killed a white lighter right before Chris's very eyes. All he could hear were the screams of his friends who were incinerated at the hands of his evil elder brother. All he could feel… was horrible fear of impending doom.   
  
No… Leo was wrong. His father was wrong about Wyatt.  
  
"Chris?"  
  
Leo's calling shook him out of his loathsome thoughts.  
  
"You alright son?"  
  
Chris wiped at his mouth and nodded. He was thirsty.  
  
"I have to go Chris. Some very important business I absolutely must take care of."  
  
Leo waited for some reaction but got none. He frowned.  
  
"You're gonna be alright here Chris. Okay?"  
  
"Yeah… yeah okay."  
  
Leo had to go. He wouldn't listen to Chris right now. It was better for him to be away while he confronted the _imposter_ himself.   
  
Leo was reluctant but eventually he bid a farewell to his sons, reminded them he was only an orb away and that he was always there for them (which was a _big_ change from Chris' old life). The sons quietly nodded and Leo left.   
  
Silence stretched between the brothers like it had never done before. Wyatt couldn't remember a time his baby brother was so quiet. He put his hands on his hips casually and tried striking up a conversation.  
  
"I know what you're thinking…"  
  
Beat.  
  
"You'e thinking - cant believe dad is still working for those jerks up there right?"  
  
Chris was momentarily taken aback, he actually _was_ wondering about that.   
  
"Yes I was… considering you never forgave the Elders for mom…"  
  
Wyatt's confident gaze flickered, there was so much past pain there and Chris knew. Wyatt took a deep breath.   
  
"Yeah well, with the power of Three gone, our connection to upstairs is very very important."  
  
Beat.  
  
"You never did forgive them did you?"  
  
Wyatt didn't respond, but nor did he look away from Chris.  
  
"In fact, it brought back all the painful memories from your childhood right back didn't it?"  
  
Wyatt swallowed, his voice barely above a whisper.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Chris got up slowly, his voice suddenly full of menace… his fists clenched by his sides.  
  
"You don't fool me Wyatt Halliwell. I know what you are… and I don't trust you." Wyatt frowned and reflexively approached Chris who tried to back up but the couch was in the way and he fell back onto it.  
  
"Chris what the hell are you talking about?"  
  
Chris was momentarily taken aback by the anger in Wyatt's voice, but he pulled himself back up to stand and attacked again.  
  
"I know now what happened to you Wyatt. I went back in time to keep Gideon from getting you but I failed and he didn't! You were deeply traumatized by the attack you suffered at Gideon's hands when you were a child. I know you have this awesome memory and you remember absolutely everything about your life right from when you were in the _womb_."  
  
Wyatt was shaking his head in frustration.  
  
"Whats that got to do with anything?"  
  
"Everything!" Chris screamed with tears in his eyes.  
  
"When mom died and the Elders said they couldn't bring her back, you went mad. You felt betrayed by them once again… the so-called leaders and protectors of the Light who tried to kill you when you were just a baby… and now who stood in shadows and did _nothing_ as mom bled to her death!"  
  
Wyatt was shaking. He put his hands on his ears as if to block out Chris' poisonous words and turned away from him.  
  
"Stop it Chris…"  
  
Chris continued as if he hadn't heard. He was screaming again.  
  
"You went mad with rage and grief and all that power in you just… _soured_ and became evil! That's how you turned dark in my world brother."  
  
And now it was Wyatt's turn to scream. He turned back around to face Chris.   
  
"Your world! The world that does not exist anymore! Why the fuck do you want me to be the same evil guy in _this_ one?"  
  
Chris laughed painfully.  
  
"I don't _want_ you to be evil! Why would I?"  
  
"Then why are you pushing me? What do you want from me Chris? What will it take… for you to _trust_ me?"  
  
Chris convulsed, this screaming match was taking away his last reservoirs of energy. But he needed to do this… he needed to be sure. He lowered his voice until it was barely a cold hiss.  
  
"Just answer my question Wyatt. Back in my world, the death of my mother, OUR mother… was what caused you to run away to the underworld. You _left_ me… you left us, and you ran."  
  
Wyatt was quiet, his eyes brimming with tears of frustration and… pain of eight years ago that simply refused to abate. This was way too close to the truth. Yes he'd been tempted. He had so _wanted_… to run away. "Piper's death drove you insane, then it drove you _evil_. So tell me… if this is supposed to a new world, a better world… what changed?"  
  
Wyatt lowered his eyes, his hands falling limply by his sides.   
  
"WHAT, DAMN IT?!?"

* * *

(TBC) 

In the words of Aragorn, son of Arathorn... "what say you? WHAT SAY YOU!?!" :))

oh, and a note for **Dragonfireceo**: Hope you're still readin this:) I wrote in this chapter that Wyatt has an exceptionally great memory - which means he does remember Chris from his time in the past. Planning to put this in eventually and I have you to thank for it! cheers:)


	9. Chapter 9

**Cyn**: Hey beautiful people! Thank you thank you so so much for ALL your kind words! Needless to say - they keep me going :) Kay a much longer chapter this one - I tried but couldnt get myself to break it up... it just seems better this way. Lemme know what you think?

* * *

Chris couldn't keep it up anymore. He collapsed onto the couch, holding his middle with his arms as excruciating pain erupted in his guts. Wyatt looked up and rushed to his side. But for all his exhaustion, the boy still managed to flinch as Wyatt approached. That just totally pissed him off.  
  
"Chris…"  
  
"Don't come near me."  
  
"You're not well…"  
  
"And whose fault is that?"   
  
Chris was fearfully drained and it bothered him his powers were still down. Wyatt sat beside him and put an arm around his shoulders to support him but Chris struggled. Wyatt refused to budge, now with a dangerous determination glinting in his eyes.  
  
"I practically raised you boy. Don't you dare shrug me off."  
  
Chris couldn't understand the conflicting feelings he was having for this brother of his… on one hand he was completely convinced that Wyatt was still evil and wanted to get far away. On the other, there was this heart-wrenching longing to simply surrender… to sink into the comforting embrace and to… to trust.   
  
Then, suddenly annoyed at feeling so weak and allowing himself to be manhandled, he pushed again groaning loudly.   
  
"Shut up now."  
  
Before the boy could argue again, Wyatt raised a hand over his middle and it glowed. Chris was surprised to know Wyatt also had healing powers and the pain soon subsided. He felt not so tired and restless, perhaps a bit more at peace even.  
  
_He's probably always had them, just never felt the need to use them before!  
_  
After awhile the hand stopped glowing and Wyatt just studied his little brother. When he noticed Chris finally relax, he got up from the couch and started to leave the room.   
  
"Where you going?"  
  
"You need to rest."  
  
"You haven't answered my question."  
  
"We'll talk tomorrow."  
  
"When you have a suitable cover story ready?"  
  
Wyatt huffed and turned around again to look down at Chris.  
  
"Look around you Chris… do you really see _nothing_ changed? Don't you see a different father? A different me?"  
  
Chris didn't reply.  
  
"Maybe I was saved just in time… maybe I am not as traumatized and _fragile_ as you assume me to be! Maybe… maybe I've got you this time to keep me out of trouble. You ever think about that?"

Too many… too many maybes. Chris managed to push himself up from a slouch.  
  
"I see my mom's still dead."  
  
Wyatt hesitated.  
  
"There is nothing we can do about that."  
  
"Yes we can!"  
  
And Wyatt could literally see the wheels turning in Chris's head.   
  
"We… I could go back… and warn Leo and you right before the attack! We could save her Wyatt… we could save mom!"  
  
Wyatt sighed, his heart went out to his little brother… so this is what everything was about.  
  
"We cant."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Wyatt rubbed his eyes with a tired hand.  
  
"Well for one, the page with the only existing time travel spell is missing from the book. Dad says mom ripped it off right after you went back and _died_ on her."  
  
"Shit."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Chris wasn't about to give in so easily.  
  
"We… we ask the Elders, they helped me go back once. Maybe Dad could…"  
  
"You want to risk another rejection from the Powers that Be?"  
  
Beat.  
  
"What if I cant handle it and turn all _scary evil_ huh?"  
  
Wyatt snickered, although there was a sadness in his eyes. He was being sarcastic, Chris knew that… but he couldn't help thinking maybe he did have a point.   
  
Wyatt turned away and his next words were uttered so quietly Chris nearly missed them.  
  
"Besides, I already tried. They said they wont do it again." 

_oh shit._  
  
Alarm bells were going off in Chris' mind. He cursed the stupid Elders for not seeing how fine a line they were treading. He hadn't spent much time with this allegedly _good_ Wyatt but even he could see the pain and the bitterness was all still there. He was like a ticking bomb! Could go off at the _slightest_ tremor.  
  
"They said it was in keeping with Piper's _wish_. Whatever that means."  
  
Chris had to think fast. To his paranoid mind, saving Piper was the only way he could save Wyatt. He got up, his vigor having been recently restored by Wyatt.   
  
"What you doing now?"  
  
"I'm going to check the book myself."  
  
With that Chris went out the room and walked towards the stairs to the attic. Wyatt pondered stopping him but decided what the hell… he followed Chris.   
  
"Alright, but I already looked okay. You can trust me on that."  
  
Chris almost laughed. They had just entered the attic door.  
  
"I won't trust you with a toothpick Wyatt Halliwell."  
  
The footfalls behind him halted.

Chris felt the air go cold, he sure did hit a nerve there… but he didn't stop. He kept walking until he reached the book which stood right where it always had. That's where he turned around and quickly glanced up at Wyatt who still waited at the door, before he opened the book.  
  
Silence stretched, and Chris started freaking out, something about a pissed off big brother not boring too well with him.  
  
"You're suppressing."  
  
Chris raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"  
  
Wyatt looked like he'd just had an epiphany.  
  
"You're suppressing the new memories with your old ones. You are not even giving this new world a chance!"  
  
Chris continued to thumb through the book. He noticed a whole stack of new pages appended at the end… Wyatt made those entries… the knowledge coming to him of a sudden from nowhere.   
  
Nope… he didn't think he was suppressing at all.  
  
"Stop all this psycho-babble bullshit okay."  
  
Wyatt laughed at that.  
  
"Hey you're the one generally spouting off Freudian nonsense round here, I learned from you."  
  
"Why would I be spouting… oh… because… I'm studying? Behavorial psychology? In college?"  
  
New memories alright.  
  
"Bingo."  
  
Chris couldn't help but smile… college was never an option back in his time. Heck he barely completed school and even that was thanks to his grandpa Victor… shit grandpa! He wasn't in hospital with lung cancer this time around, this he was sure of. Kay that's good. He mentally made a note to check up on how he was doing. But later.  
  
Chris cleared his throat and went back to scouring the book. Wyatt tapped his feet, tapped at the doorframe, paced back and forth and finally just plopped onto the big plush… _bed in the corner?  
_

Chris blinked.  
  
"You sleep here. You _live_ here, in the attic."  
  
It wasn't a question. Wyatt smiled in return.   
  
"To protect the book with your force field?"  
  
"I protect the whole manor with my force field. You know that."  
  
Chris swallowed, yeah that little detail needed reminding but… he did know that.  
  
"Which room is mine?"  
  
"The one you were in downstairs."  
  
"But that's…"  
  
"Yeah… used to be mom's room. Then you made it yours."  
  
Chris looked down at the book, shuffled his feet.  
  
"I helped you move in, remember? You wouldn't let me change the bed covers and sheets for weeks. You… you missed her so much…"

Tears threatened to show at the rim of his eyes again. Wyatt took another step closer to where Chris stood. Chris suddenly felt a rush of memories he'd never known before…  
  
He saw himself at fourteen years old, curled up around Piper's pillow, crying hysterically on her bed. He saw a sixteen years old Wyatt walk into the room and hold him tightly to himself. He saw the grieving children console each other, wipe each other's tears. He saw how Wyatt rocked the younger Chris until he fell asleep. That couldn't have possibly happened in his old life, because _that_ Wyatt had never liked him at all! There was something dark and brooding and standoffish about _that_ boy for as long as Chris could remember. He barely used to acknowledge him as a brother.   
  
This however… was so different. This was his new life.   
  
Before he could stop himself, Chris was whispering his assent.  
  
"Yes, I remember…"

Wyatt studied the change in his brother closely and wondered if he'd probably been given an opening. He walked slowly closer to Chris as if approaching a skittish pony.  
  
"Chris, I can only imagine what you've gone through. And you probably think this new world is… maybe its too good to be true. But it is real, brother. Look at me…"  
  
Chris raised his eyes to look at Wyatt's. He so wanted to believe.  
  
"You and I, we have a brothers' bond… just like the sisters did. You know me, better than anyone. Better than dad!"   
  
There was so much desperation in Wyatt's voice, Chris' resolution to resist almost crumbled.   
  
Almost.

"No… I don't know you."

......  
  
Wyatt sighed in resignation and shook his head.   
  
"You're suppressing again…"  
  
Chris sobbed. "Maybe, maybe I am."  
  
Wyatt waited.  
  
"And maybe for good reason. My _mother_ is still _dead_. And if it weren't for you… she would have been alive."  
  
Wyatt froze.   
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"You… you were always off… killing something. First it was just insects, then animals! Then demons… your powers grew every day and with them your thirst for blood. I was there and I saw it… I saw it in your eyes…"  
  
Wyatt looked away, his long hair flying loose at the sudden movement. Something huge and painful lodged in his throat.  
  
"You went down to the Underworld chasing this stupid demon… and dad went looking for you. He always did love you so much more. And that was it… _that's all it took_…"  
  
Chris felt the moisture on his cheeks and didn't care.   
  
Then he heard a sob and it wasn't his.

When Wyatt looked at him this time, there was no soft pleading in his eyes, no love for his brother. There was coldness...

...and Chris felt it.  
  
"I am _sick_ of you confusing me with this other person Chris. I wish you'd get over it but until you do… get your damn facts about _this_ world straight."  
  
His voice was harsh.  
  
"I am _not_ and _never_ have been a killer. And I probably have you to thank for that. As for mom's death… I know I made a mistake."  
  
Wyatt looked down, his eyes burning with unshed tears… years of guilt all thrown up into his face by his own little brother! All rationale left the man as pain took over. There was only so much he could take.  
  
"I shouldn't… shouldn't have fallen for the bait. I was young and arrogant in my newfound powers and I will carry that burden of guilt on my conscience for the rest of eternity. But what I will _not_ do… is stand here and listen to you accuse me of _killing_ my own mother just because it makes you feel better about your own guilt!"  
  
Silence reigned. Chris shook his head in denial.   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
Wyatt sniffed once, then he turned away.  
  
"Forget it then."  
  
"Say it."  
  
"I said forget it."  
  
"Say it DAMN YOU!"  
  
And Wyatt lost it.  
  
"You blamed yourself for not being able to save mom when the attack came."  
  
Chris hyperventilated. He bit his lower lip until it bled, and backed away from the book now forgotten.   
  
"Shut up."  
  
"I know Chris… I know because you told me! You told me you felt guilty and I've told you that it was not your fault a thousand times."  
  
"Shut up shut up shut the fuck up!"

Wyatt was advancing on him… Chris felt the walls closing in. He had to get out, out of this damn attic where his mother's blood was spilt and he'd been helpless to do anything except scream.  
  
_Leo! Leo!_   
  
"Chris hold it… I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault kiddo, it was not your fault!"  
  
_Leo please!! We need you dad! Wyatt!!_  
  
Chris kept shaking his head and trembling, backing away from Wyatt who was now very worried about this panic reaction Chris was having.   
  
"Chris… look at me. Christopher…"  
  
_Wyatt! Wyatt please, mom's bleeding!! Mom hold on!! Hold on please!! Wyatt!!_

_......_  
  
_Dad please!!_

_......_  
  
_God no! Daddy!!_

The room spun, where did all the air go? Chris had to get out, away from all the memories – old ones, new ones. God damn memories and Wyatt… who was holding him by the shoulders and saying something but he couldn't hear a thing… he just had to get out.  
  
With strength superhuman and from God knows where, Chris tore out of his brother's hands and ran through the attic door… flew down the steps and then out the Halliwell Manor. He could hear Wyatt shouting, asking him to wait… to come back but he couldn't. The Manor was the last place he wanted to be… yes he was suppressing… memories both old ones and new because they were all the fucking same! He'd been weak and incompetent in both of them… he'd let his mother down in fucking both of them. Wyatt would have been able to save Piper if he'd been there… Wyatt was stronger and smarter and… bigger and Dad would have listened when he'd called for him. Yes he would.   
  
It was so easy to blame Wyatt for not being there… so easy… because he was evil!   
  
_Wasn't he?_   
  
Chris ran… tears flowing down his face and into his beautiful blue shirt, his throat hurting with all the crying and yet he ran.

* * *

(TBC)

Review please please pretty please? :)

Note to **Jaspis** - thanks for the immortality :D I love your sense of humor btw! You write the Buffy stories right? :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Cyn**: kay just saw the final ep of Angel. Did it suck or what?? I am so totally totally bummed out. Was expecting so much more from Joss :( Uhh er yeah... Charmed.. Chris... yeah like it wasnt enough they killed Chris off on here! :( Bad month!

Sorry guys, guess I need to vent somewhere :P good thing we got fanfic to set things right eh? :) man it still sucks.

Thank you everybody for your sweet encouragements:) Your reviews totally keep me going! I'm glad you guys find the boy's near-insanity believable. Chris has issues of guilt yeah... I always thought the inferiority complex thingy could be explored more on the show but they dont do mushy stuff so much anyway. Sorry if Chris is crying too much hehe. I didnt realise, just kept writing what I assumed would be my natural reaction to his kind of situation. I'll try to can it :P

* * *

Leo paced the length of the attic, seemed like walking back and forth was the only thing he'd been doing these past few hours.  
  
He'd gotten back just when he saw Chris running down from the attic. In his panic, the boy hadn't even noticed his father and just ran out. Before Leo could think, Wyatt came right behind him shouting for Chris to stop. Expectedly, Chris didn't.  
  
"Damn it Chris!"  
  
Leo intercepted the pursuer before he too could leave the manor.  
  
"Wyatt wait."  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Let him go for now son."  
  
"But dad…"  
  
Leo had not offered an explanation. Wyatt had grimaced and cursed and upended the dining table. He did not argue, but he wasn't happy at all.  
  
----  
  
Chris ran, then when he got breathless he walked… and finally when he couldn't take another step, he collapsed onto the sidewalk. In his haste, he didn't get a jacket and it was freezing. He looked around himself… an isolated junkyard area of the city with not a soul in sight. No street lights either. From what little he registered of the scenery as he ran past… the city did not _seem_ overrun with warlocks and darklighters. Evil did not _seem_ to be on an unstoppable rampage – not above ground anyway. A new future this… maybe even a better one.  
  
_Wasn't this different? In a good way?_  
  
Onset of winter… temperatures dipping and he wondered where he could go to escape the biting cold. Trying desperately to catch his breath and at the same time wishing the icy wind would not go into his mouth and nose, he dragged himself up and started towards a tiny flicker of light glowing at a distance.  
  
Chris was trying valiantly hard to not think. Thinking just led to remembering things he wished he could forget and remembering led to the irrepressible urge to howl which just made his throat hurt all that more. Not good.  
  
And if he did _seriously_ start thinking about the conversations he'd had with Wyatt this night… he would have to take a closer look at all of the feelings, thoughts and guilts he'd buried deep within himself all those years ago.  
  
No…  
  
He wasn't ready for that. All Chris knew was that Piper was dead. And Wyatt was teetering on the edge of good, just waiting for the next gush of wind to throw him into the pits of evil and then it would all be back to square _hell_.  
  
For all he knew, Wyatt might even be _wishing_ for a release like that.  
  
_You don't really think that.  
  
Don't I?_  
  
Chris was angry… so angry at his so-full-of-it-ridiculously-powerful brother who thought he knew everything there was to know about anything! Fuck him! What did he know?  
  
_He knew about your guilt.  
  
He's wrong.  
  
Is he?_  
  
Although Chris did grudgingly admit to himself that he'd totally got the two versions of Wyatt scrambled up in his head. Like most everything else. The concept of life and death, family and foe… good and evil. Everything was just a big fat yucky throw-uppy mushroom mélange.  
  
The boy shivered.  
  
_You brought the hell that was your world right back to this one… locked inside your own damn head.  
  
Way to go Christopher._  
  
Chris closed his eyes just for a moment as if to shake loose the voices and the images. And in that single serene second the sidewalk ended. Chris lost his balance and would have fallen flat on his face but got his knees and hands in the way first. The good leather scratched and his knees were badly scraped, and his appendages did not fare so well either. At least he wasn't knocked flat out with a concussion.  
  
_Damn it._  
  
He could have _really_ used a concussion right about now.  
  
Eventually he reached the small fire that a couple of homeless people were huddled around. He hesitated as did the other two men. The boy was dressed in clean fashionable clothes. No jacket though… and he was obviously freezing. Without a word, as if one look at the boy's face had revealed his sad destiny… the men moved to make place for Chris. Chris sank to his knees before the fire, feeling no greater necessity than to merely get warm. After a long debate amongst each other, the men passed him something in a dirty brown paper bag – a bottle of cheap liquor…  
  
Chris wondered how far he could possibly allow himself to fall this night?  
  
He laughed… he'd fallen from nowhere to dont-know-where… from practically dead to probably alive… thats gotta be pretty hard to beat? He snorted. After everything he'd been through, you'd _think_ he deserved more.  
  
_You deserve to hang.  
  
shut up shut up.  
  
yes you do.  
  
fuck you._  
  
Chris accepted the drink with a soft thanks.  
  
----  
  
Back in the attic, Wyatt sat on a wooden chair in a corner.  
  
He'd set up a table with a lamp here and this is where he used to study at night to complete his education. It had been tough… growing up… mom dead, aunts and uncles and cousins he grew up around all gone. A father who couldn't be around all the time. But Wyatt had never complained – not once. He was too busy taking care of his little brother Chris who was taking the death of their mother very very hard. The younger boy would wake up screaming from terrible nightmares and wouldn't go back to sleep unless Wyatt stayed with him. He'd teleport his food away to empty his plate and no one realized he'd stopped eating until the day he fell unconscious in school. Wyatt would sit with him and make sure he finished his food for months after that. He'd get Chris to do his homework, practice his defense spells (couldn't possibly let him leave the manor unprotected) and generally keep him busy and distracted all day long. He didn't send Chris to Magic school because the boy couldn't bear to be apart from Wyatt that long. And Wyatt leaving the manor unguarded? Out of the question.  
  
At sixteen, the world's weight had fallen from the Charmed three sisters' to his young shoulders.  
  
Wyatt was responsible for the well grounded nearly-normal individual Chris had grown up to be in this world, in every possible manner of speaking. It was exhausting… raising Chris… but Wyatt made a promise to his dead mother, and he was determined to keep it.  
  
Tonight, however, he couldn't stop cursing himself. He'd made a mistake, _again_. Seemed like every little mistake of his would always bring about dire consequences. Wyatt Halliwell was totally not allowed to err. Period.  
  
The burden was sickening and there were times it got so heavy he thought he'd snap in two.  
  
"Relax Wyatt. We know where he is."  
  
Wyatt stood up at that, agitated beyond reason.  
  
"He is sleeping behind a _dumpster_ dad!! Why cant we go and get him home?"  
  
"Because he will not listen! He wont come with us right now kid."  
  
Wyatt sighed, he knew Leo was right. The three men were infamous for their stubbornness and Chris could get completely out of hand. Leo continued to pace.  
  
"Its all your fault. You've spoilt him so much."  
  
Wyatt softly chuckled.  
  
"Its not the same Chris dad. This one hates me."  
  
Leo stopped.  
  
"They're both the same person now, thanks to you. We just need to give him some time to accept this new world. We have no idea how frightening all this must seem to him."  
  
Wyatt nodded.  
  
"I know, its just… he's _obsessed_ with the idea of me being evil. And with… mom's death. I suppose he blamed me, or the evil me for her death. And now in this world where she is still dead… he has sub-consciously assumed that I am still evil too."  
  
Leo placed a hand on his forlorn son's shoulder. He could understand the sorrow Wyatt felt at the sudden rift between the two brothers who used to be so close.  
  
"And then there is his own guilt. I thought we'd dealt with it so many times before! If he is the same person… why doesn't he remember?"  
  
"Like you said, he is suppressing."  
  
Wyatt shook his head, feeling anxiety take over again. He was very worried about Chris' current state of mind. The wild look in his eyes as he fled the manor imprinted deep on his mind.  
  
"I shouldn't have…"  
  
"Wyatt stop. The last thing I want is for you to lose your objectivity too."  
  
Leo now had a good idea of what happened after he left. His younger son kept pushing and provoking until the older one lost control of his own temper. Bond or not… the cruelty by words that one's own family is capable of… no stranger is. Wyatt was no more to blame than Chris himself.  
  
Anyhow, the rebuke worked, and Wyatt gulped down the self-deprecation he was about to stutter. Leo was right… it was _guilt_ and most of it misplaced, that had gotten him and Chris into this mess. Adding more was not going to help.  
  
"God I just wish he'd come back."  
  
Leo squeezed his son's shoulder again and Wyatt reflexively leaned in.  
  
"We'll get him back son. In time."  
  
Wyatt looked into his dad's eyes. Leo's presence was always a soothing balm and a blessing. For a change, he could rely on someone and let his guard down. And he knew Leo was right. It would be of no help to bring Chris back to the manor against his will. They would just have to try and get through to him another way. Or wait for him to come around.  
  
"If he would just stop running from the new memories… everything will be fine. I know it will."  
  
Leo frowned.  
  
"I know but how do we get him to trust us enough to do that?"  
  
"Dad he does trust you."  
  
"He might be having his doubts… we worked through his issues back in the past but looks like he might be regressing."  
  
Wyatt didn't understand.  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
Leo sighed.  
  
"Well, he might be thinking I favor you more, because I trust in you. And that would lead him to believe I don't love him as much!"  
  
"Jeez."  
  
"Don't worry son, we just need to give him some time. Let him spend the night away from us and sort out his thoughts okay?"  
  
"Okay… but he doesn't even have his powers back yet. I'm gonna have to keep a close watch on him if he's staying away from the manor."  
  
Leo nodded.  
  
"Do what it takes."  
  
----  
  
Chris slept wrapped in newspapers and rags that the hobos had been generous enough to donate. The liquor helped and the boy was out like a light most of the night. At daybreak though, it got so cold his teeth were clattering and Chris feared he'd lose a finger or two.  
  
_What the hell am I doing?_  
  
Things couldn't possibly get any worse damnit. Which means they should get better then right?  
  
_Right?_  
  
No spell, no way to go back to… to mom and dad. No book – that's back there at the manor where that _fiend_ was. And what do you know… no powers either!  
  
Still!!  
  
_Damn him!  
_  
Chris didn't wish to be reminded the same guy had saved him from… something… whatever. He didn't wanna discuss it. But boy did he need help. After a good night's sleep the boy was now lucid enough to realize three facts – one, he didn't know where he was. Good world? Bad world? No idea, nada. Two – he was utterly famished and three, his breath stank. Now where could he possibly find his toothbrush in this goddamn… wait a minute.  
  
_P3!!_  
  
Chris cursed his muddled up mind for not providing him this memory when he was freezing his ass off last night. He kept a toothbrush and shaver and stuff, alongwith change of clothes at the little room at the back of P3! Why?  
  
Because… after turning twenty one, he'd taken over the management of the club from his overloaded brother?  
  
Chris sighed. Whatever… right now, he totally needed to take a shower and for that he was willing to risk running into Wyatt and… and even Leo.  
  
P3 it is.

----

Wyatt smiled as he looked up from the scrying map.  
  
"He's at the club."  
  
"Told ya he'd come around."  
  
Wyatt nodded. Leo was about to suggest he go catch a few winks, Wyatt had been up all night. His son thought he didn't know, but Leo had noticed Wyatt orb out in the middle of the night. No doubt the wizard had stood guard over a sleeping Chris all night despite the _arrangements_ he'd made.  
  
_How can you doubt this brother of yours, Chris?_  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yes son."  
  
"Do you… do you think maybe Chris wants me… _needs_ me to be evil?"  
  
Leo sighed. He had no answer.

* * *

(TBC)

Next up: the Charmed Ones (are forced to) drop in.

What do you guys think? Review please please please? :)


	11. Chapter 11

**cyn: **hey guys! so sorry for the long delay.. real life's got in the way again. Longer chapter to make up for it :D Please please please review and let me know if I should keep writing this?

Someone told me a disclaimer is missing from my story - thanks Tay - so here goes. Nothing of Charmed is mine. I just borrowed the characters to take 'em out for a spin :D  
Also wanna put a mush alert warning :) Yep... lotsa emotional issues and... stuff. You've been warned! :)

* * *

Leo was called and he returned to the clouds. Wyatt shook himself together and started the day as he usually did. Or tried to.  
  
Wyatt was in field training with the SFPD to be an officer of the law – a job he figured would be perfect cover for his actual responsibilities of everyday life. Darryl helped a lot, now that the man was Chief of Police. It didn't matter that Morris had offered the favor only to alleviate some of his own guilt for abandoning the sisters all those years ago.  
  
Wyatt got his land rover out to go to work, strengthening the forcefield of the manor behind him. With time much advancement had been made both above ground and below, so the book simply could not be left unprotected. Apologized to the next-door neighbor for last evening's fender-bender caused by Chris' mazda. Again. Gunned the engine and pulled out.   
  
But damnit he couldn't possibly focus on anything today. Leo may have been confident that Chris would come around by himself, but he wasn't the one that Chris was running away from. Besides the boy's powers were still not back and that was also a very very worrying factor here. Him being out there, alone… Wyatt gritted his teeth and skidded the car round back to the manor. Not a good day for work.  
  
Wyatt walked back into the attic, throwing his jacket on the bed and headed straight for the book.   
  
The void left by the demise of the power of Three was never filled. But Wyatt's presence on the scene made sure evil gained an upper hand not _once _in the last eight years. They tried, sure they did. Now four vanquished sources and only over three thousand dusted demons later, the dark worlders weren't so sure there _was _a void to begin with.   
  
"Okay. There's gotta be something in here to restore his powers."  
  
But Wyatt had read and memorized the entire book word for word. There had been no cases of retrieving souls lost between timelines before Chris so no way to predict the side effects. He closed the book, nothing found. Wyatt knew he sucked at rhyming, Chris was so much better at it. He sighed and scrunched his face.  
  
_"Magic forces far and wide  
  
Hear my spell and set things right  
  
Restore the Charmed son's power  
  
And make whole… my beloved brother?"_  
  
He waited. Nothing happened.   
  
_Potion maybe… some sorta potion.  
  
_Pushed his long blonde hair behind the ears.  
  
_Aunt Phoebe… I so wish you were here…  
_

_-----_

_  
_Five thousand miles and fourteen hours away round the world… acclaimed columnist and Booker winning author Phoebe Halliwell tossed in her bed. Jason was away for an overnight trip to Singapore, and the girls were sound asleep. It was after all two in the morning and the woman had a long day ahead of her. She so did not need this right now. Phoebe huffed and sat up in bed.  
  
"Damn it Wyatt."  
  
All day she had walked around distracted, sensing her nephew's worried thoughts and pacings with her highly empathetic mind. Bonds of magic may have been severed, but bonds of family weren't.  
  
Wyatt had always been close to her and long after Piper died and Phoebe came away to Hong Kong, he would tend to reach out to her almost unintentionally. To the world, he was the stronger, calmer older son taking care of everything from Piper's funeral to Chris' counseling sessions. But whenever things would get too much for the teenager, his mind would zone out and try to touch Phoebe's… sometimes only to assure himself she was still there. Feathery light brushes and she would know Wyatt was thinking about her, missing her. There were times he'd linger, ask how the girls were doing and stuff. Phoebe would have long-distance conversations with the boy only as long as they spoke of family and impersonal matters. They did not discuss witchcraft.  
  
Phoebe had been shattered. She'd survived Pru's funeral… but there was no way she could sit through a second sister's funeral while the third one reeled under catatonia. She was done.  
  
Done losing the people she loved… good against evil, right and wrong didn't matter… nothing was worth this anymore. And God how'd begged Leo to let her take Wyatt and Chris with her. Leo refused to budge – all that shit about destiny she didn't give a rat's ass about. Wyatt refused to budge – he was determined to fall for the same traps that his mother and aunts had before him. And Chris… the poor boy couldn't bear to be away from his brother at all.  
  
The mind-talks gradually dwindled as it became easier with time to just pick up the phone and hear an actual voice on the other side. It became easier to fly (no orbing allowed) back and forth for short visits so the cousins could see each other and remember they were one family… one blood. So now Wyatt would usually come knocking on her mind only when… when there was some sort of magical crisis on. Now _that _Phoebe was not interested in.   
  
She'd tried her best to ignore him. All damn day.   
  
She and the girls had called up Chris in the morning to wish him. Everything had been fine.  
  
No, something was obviously not right right now. Wyatt wouldn't be paging her so restlessly for nothing. Even if he didn't know he was doing it.  
  
"Damn it!"  
  
She cursed again, switched on her bedside lamp and picked up the phone.

-----

By the time Chris got out of the shower and changed into fresh, and to be honest more comfortable loose fitting clothes, he was feeling less dead and more alive. His thoughts were still going around in circles though. He remembered and yet did not remember the newly renovated club that was his mother's legacy – among many other things.   
  
_Man, did I really order these handmade magenta lamp shades? What the hell was I thinking??  
  
They do look kinda funky._  
  
So the Chris in this world had flamboyant tastes but the majority of him was still bent on holding back. One voice in his head bawked at the _colorfully _named cocktails on the menu… another sniggered, thoroughly pleased with his _creative _streak.  
  
_The crowds love it man.  
  
Mom wouldn't like this at all.  
  
_The only cleaner guy (not a magical one) who worked mornings came in and greeted him like he'd known Chris forever.  
  
"Hey boss, did you sleep here last night?"  
  
"Uhh yeah. I did."  
  
_Brian is it?  
  
_Brian snickered.   
  
"Well congratulations. Looks like big brother finally cut you loose."  
  
_Huh?_  
  
Chris just scowled in return and went back to the solace of his office.   
  
There he found a little fridge to raid for whatever unexpired food he could find. Chris needed a plan – he needed to prove to dad that Wyatt couldn't be trusted. And he needed to get his powers back asap. Stripping Chris of his powers even before he'd opened his eyes was the smartest thing Wyatt could have done to cover his ass. Undeniable proof of his true evil intentions – why was he the only one to see that?  
  
Leo was so naïve, so completely blinded by his love for the firstborn. Probably another thing that did not change despite everything that happened back in the past. Chris felt a familiar hollowness he hadn't felt now for months.  
  
_Get a grip Halliwell.   
  
_Chris also couldn't help feeling an irrational envy for his father. He loved him still doubtless. But he wasn't liking him too much at the moment. He needed someone who would understand him and want to bring Piper back as much as he did. Someone who knew what could happen if Wyatt was to give in to his inner demons.   
  
The window flew open and a cold breeze blew in. Chris turned to face the horizon and almost without intention, words of a well-used ditty rose to his lips.   
  
_"spirit winds you know her name,  
  
find the witch who lives in pain…"  
_  
He paused, he smirked.  
  
_"…summon her from magic school,  
  
she'll kick my butt, but that's cool.  
  
Hear this spell, hear my chant  
  
return to me my favorite aunt."  
_  
He waited. Nothing happened.   
  
Chris closed his eyes and his head dropped to his chest. Obviously his active powers were not the only powers gone. He was not even capable of basic spells every witch and wizard was supposed to be born with. He scrunched up his eyes tighter. It was hopeless. This was all so absolutely ridiculously…  
  
"What the…? Oh way to go Christopher, perfect timing!"  
  
Chris startled, and looked up to find Paige… dressed in Magic School standard issue black cloak with a nasty toe nail clipper in one hand, poised for action.  
  
"You came!"  
  
"I am so going to kick your skinny little…"  
  
Before she knew it, Chris charged her and pulled her into a tight desperate hug. And he was not letting go.   
  
"Uhh… okay… alright…"  
  
Chris let go and parted, realizing what he just did. "Sorry."  
  
Paige got over her shock of being suddenly retrieved out of Magic School and into P3 and dropped the clippers.   
  
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to convince a phoenix to donate her claws? After weeks of deliberations I finally got her to stand still long enough for me to clip a sliver and just when I thought I had it…"  
  
"Sorry again?" Chris, now slightly blushing but not sorry at all, threw her his best innocent look.   
  
Paige humphed. "A little warning nephew that's all I ask!"  
  
Chris nodded eagerly, not finding any words to explain the exhilaration he felt at seeing her. He was sure he'd summoned her several times before without warning and his aunt had pretended to be annoyed every time. He was sure he was gonna do it again.   
  
Chris continued to stare as she straightened her cloak until the witch figured something was off.  
  
"Okay, out with it."  
  
The Halliwells was not a normal family, never had been. And Paige had left the fold eight years ago. Although she'd visited Chris every time he'd called her, she did not like visiting the mortal plane anymore. Most expectedly, she did not remember.  
  
"Aunt Paige… today's my twenty secondth birthday."  
  
Paige was stunning to look at even now when the years had hardened her features. Her eyes did not sparkle with the same intensity. But they weren't dead either – they were filled with the light of wisdom that only experience and pain brings. The hair was back to original black, which somehow made her look more morose than when Chris saw her in the past. She'd carelessly piled it on top of her head making her tall frame look taller. She wore no makeup. Paige was the most beautiful woman Chris knew.   
  
The Charmed one's face melted first with mild amusement, them embarassment (she forgot again), and then with stunned realization as the implications of the event sank in.   
  
"Oh my God. Wyatt did it."  
  
That was the last thing Chris had wanted to hear. He flinched away.  
  
"Lemme guess… having trouble reconciling with your new life?"  
  
Chris snorted. "What new life?"  
  
Paige frowned. "You're acting weird."  
  
"Look there is no time to explain. I need your help."  
  
"To do what?"  
  
Chris stated matter-of-factly. "To fix this. Again."  
  
"Fix what? You already saved Wyatt from turning evil."  
  
"I failed."  
  
Paige sighed loudly. "Christopher you're trying my patience now."  
  
"I am _trying _to tell you we did not succeed in making sure Wyatt _never _turns evil."  
  
"Wyatt was saved from Gideon in time. I know I was there!"  
  
"How do you know it was in time? How do you know its not all an act like in my last world? How do you know he wont drop the act and blow everything up tomorrow?"  
  
Paige narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Chris don't you see the difference between the man who tortured and tried to kill you in the other world, and this one who is your brother and who _loves _you??"  
  
Chris bit his lip, losing patience himself.   
  
"He took away all my powers Paige!"  
  
The witch paused.  
  
"He did mention there could be unforeseen side effects."   
  
"He _told _you he was going to do something to me and you didn't stop him?"  
  
"Stop being a dolt. If he wanted you out of the way why would he bring you back in the first place?"  
  
"Well… maybe because dad asked him to… I guess… I don't know!"  
  
"You are not _trying _to know! Stop fighting it Chris. The new memories will allow you to see how much you did not fail! And how much different this world is."  
  
Chris muttered softly. "You're not any different. You still don't like to be touched."  
  
The silence that followed was not comfortable. Paige's glance turned cold and she quickly looked away.  
  
"I have to get back."  
  
"No wait. We need to discuss this."  
  
"There is nothing to discuss."  
  
And Paige was about to orb away.   
  
"We need to get mom back!"  
  
She stopped. "What? Ho-how? Chris you mean you wanna go back in time again?"  
  
"That's the only way isn't it?"  
  
Paige pursed her lips and considered what Chris was saying. Chris was reminded of another good reason why his mother needed to be alive again. This was for the best – it was not only to save Wyatt, it was to save Paige too.  
  
"The spell is not in our book but it must exist somewhere in the Magic school library. We could look for it and…"  
  
"Its… too late. Everyone's moved on. And Piper is… well her too…"  
  
"Aunt Paige the fate of the world hangs in the balance don't you see? Wyatt is the most powerful being to have ever been born and without mom to control him, he… he could…"  
  
"You sound just like Gideon."  
  
Chris was horrified. He couldn't believe what he just heard. His mouth fell open to say something but he couldn't think of any words to respond to this… this…   
  
"Trust your brother Chris. He is not the Wyatt you once knew. You are not the Chris you were. You're much more than that. And you love him."  
  
Chris winced as something he was suppressing tried to force its way up tearing through his mind and heart painfully.  
  
"You don't get it. I thought you of all people would understand me!!"  
  
"I do! And that's why I know…"  
  
"YOU KNOW NOTHING!"  
  
Chris screamed Paige into silence.   
  
"Living in that Magic School away like some hermit has made you so cold!! Hiding behind your invisibility cloak just like _he _did! You don't understand what family is anymore! God how could I expect you to help me at all! If anyone here is like Gideon its YOU!"  
  
Paige closed her eyes. The words didn't sting because she knew they weren't true. Well, not completely. She did live the life of a hermit and she… did hide behind that stupid cloak. But what she felt right now was sadness for what Chris was going through. The nephew she'd seen grow from a baby to an adult had a sorrowful past but he wasn't this neurotic, or this manically disturbed. The Chris of this world had accepted the fact that everything happens for a reason. And that when some things are meant to be, no power in this world or any other could possibly change it.  
  
"Chris… just stop… stop fighting this."  
  
"He cant, sweetie."  
  
The couple then realized there was a third presence in the room. Since when, they couldn't say. Paige and Chris turned to look at Phoebe… who stood slightly out of their peripheral visions with her arms folded, studying Chris very intently.  
  
"At least not yet. He's too much like his mother. Its his nature to _fight_."  
  
Paige overcame her shock and went to her sister. They embraced a long time as Chris looked on.   
  
"Talk to him please." she whispered.  
  
Chris was curious how Phoebe knew to find him here, and also how she got into the room.  
  
"You didn't use the door."  
  
"Wyatt orbed me in."  
  
Chris got agitated again. "Just so like him to go running to you!"  
  
"Like you came running to me?" Paige quipped.  
  
Chris scowled. "Well technically you came to me not…"  
  
"Yeah, we know."  
  
Phoebe interjected and Chris shut up. They stared each other down. Chris was already not trusting her because she was sent by Wyatt. She had to be careful.  
  
"Don't I get a hug?"  
  
Chris pouted. And that's all he did. Vaguely he remembered talking to her only… yesterday on the phone? From Hong Kong?  
  
"Lemme guess, you came here to tell me I should accept my new life and move on. Right?"  
  
Phoebe smiled sadly at him.   
  
"Paige do you remember how Piper was like right after Pru died?"  
  
Paige nodded, reminiscing.   
  
"She was so angry… she lashed out at everyone, you for putting yourself at risk. Leo for not healing Pru, _them _for not saving her… me for… for trying to replace her."  
  
Chris didn't like where this was going. He turned around and went to stand by the open window. Phoebe still studied him intently.  
  
"She was in as much pain as you are today Chris. But in time she realized it was self-destructive to hold onto the past and she let go. She accepted Pru's death and moved on for the rest of us. Me, Paige… Leo. You think you and your brother would be here if she hadn't?"  
  
Chris did not react. But he was holding a storm inside. Phoebe went to stand behind him and put a hesitant hand on his shoulder.  
  
"She was alive and real for you till yesterday night and today she's dead. Sweetie… I can imagine what you must be going through."  
  
A sob escaped Chris.  
  
"It hurts…"  
  
A painful flashback crossed the empath's mind… of Piper breaking down…  
  
_It hurts to talk… it hurts to breathe…  
  
_Phoebe turned him around and slowly drew him into herself, his head resting on her shoulder. He let her hold him but his hands hung by his sides.  
  
"Don't blame yourself baby. And don't blame Wyatt. It was meant to be."  
  
A harsh gasp.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Phoebe did not respond, only gripped him tightly. But it didn't help, Chris tore out of her embrace and with tears in his eyes demanded the eternal answer again.  
  
"Why??"  
  
The sisters didn't know what to say or do. They were thinking Chris needed to go back to counseling again.  
  
The pain the guilt… the fear – it was all too much to bear now, he felt like he could barely breathe. But if Piper were alive… yeah… mom could fix this. Mom could take care of everything. Chris wiped away his tears, they were no use anyway.  
  
"Are you guys going to help me or not?"  
  
Paige sighed, hadn't she scoured the magic school library day and night to find something… anything that could bring Piper and Richard back? Hadn't Chris suffered through this once? Poor child… this shouldn't be happening to him again, she thought.   
  
"Chris there is nothing we can do. And even if there was, Piper doesn't want us to do anything!"  
  
"What??"  
  
Phoebe advised him gently. "Go back to the manor darling and speak to your mother."  
  
The tears threatened again. "How can I face her…" and the muttered whispers were so low they weren't heard.   
  
"I failed her… again…"  
  
Paige asked, hugely concerned for the boy. "What did you say?"   
  
Chris clamped shut. No… he could fix this. He could still fix this!  
  
"Fine. You guys have such perfect wonderful lives, go back to them! I'm only your dead sister's second son why should you care what happens to me?"  
  
Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Chris you know that's not true."  
  
Frustration now. Helpless again… to save mom, to save Wyatt… he was screaming inside again.  
  
"Wyatt is going to turn! Unless we bring Piper back."  
  
"No he's not."  
  
Paige tried, but Chris rambled on like he hadn't even heard her.  
  
"And the first one he comes after is me! You know why??"  
  
…  
  
"Because he blames me too! He thinks I was this stupid wimp who could do nothing to save Piper during the attack!! He will come after me for that and he will kill me!"  
  
The sisters were frantic.  
  
"Jesus! Chris, we'll get you help. You can get past this sweetie!"   
  
Chris did not listen. Talking to the sisters was useless. As far as he was concerned, these women were not the Charmed ones anymore. He would have to find a way to bring mom back himself. He heard nothing of what his aunts said to him, and just walked out. Into the cool winter morning. 

-----

Life was difficult for the underworlders in this age… and getting difficult-er. Demons using corrupt humans to do their bidding above ground was not a new phenomenon. But since of late the number of demons volunteering to be above ground had dwindled, dependency on greedy mortals had multiplied and they were running short of the right… rather _wrong _sorta humans. Fortunately, the San Francisco coven of assassin witches had planted the perfect mole… 

Brian.  
  
Chris shoved open the back doors of P3 and stamped out… too engrossed with his inner demons to worry about the ones outside. If he'd looked up once to a nearby terrace, he would have seen three assassins perched with blessed athames. If he'd glanced left behind the dumpsters, he would have found a fourth one there.   
  
And if he'd paid attention, he would have known the fourth one had been following him around since last night.  
  
Voices in his head were too loud and too chaotic for Chris to hear anything else. What the fuck…. he almost preferred the world he had come from. At least things were not this murky – right was good and wrong was evil. Whatever happened to the clear demarcations and his instincts that had never failed him before?  
  
_I gotta speak to… I should… oh God I cant face her!   
  
_Footsteps too close for comfort behind and left of him. By the time he turned around … it was too late.

* * *

(TBC)

Cyn: The sisters will be back... with more action hopefully :) Next up: well... isnt it obvious :D

Please please tell me what you think?


	12. Chapter 12

**Cyn**: Rooney twists ankle plus Becks misses penalty England loss which sucks plus one Mightily sulking boyfriend!! Course you know that means what – alone time with my laptop yayy. Hey, I'm just trying to see the bright side alright (pouts) :p

Thanks guys for your lovely reviews! You're completely responsible for me still writing this I swear! Addiction? Woah… that does sound kinda like… totally cool!:) Thank you so much! You rock! :)

Yeah Chris is definitely the one we all loved in S6. That was the idea – to put our Chris in a new world, a world he created and yet not ready to accept it himself. I just love his neuroticness :D Kay I know the plot of course so I can answer all your questions right now and I so want to!! :) But I wont… bcos then you'll have no reason to read the damn story :P Go read and please please leave a review ?? :)

* * *

Wyatt was on the phone with Lindsey, ex-girlfriend from three years ago, and Dr Rydill's personal secretary since like… ever. After Piper's death, Chris needed to see the good doctor regularly for about a year. That is when Wyatt had met Lindsey and experienced his first true love. Piper crossed over just once right after her funeral to see the boys… to console them and encourage them to carry on. Then she had cruelly disappeared for a long time, some dumbassed logic about how seeing her and speaking to her was keeping her alive for the boys and making it harder for them to move on with their destinies. Who came up with these stupid logics anyway?

Well move on the boys did, eventually. The counseling gradually but steadily began to help Chris with his misplaced feelings of guilt. The doctor had been one of the many people saved by one of Phoebe's premonitions and was quite savvy to the freakish world the Halliwells lived in. Lindsey however, wasn't.

They'd broken up, Wyatt and her… but were still friends and kept in touch. Lindsey would call frequently to inquire how Chris was doing even though Chris hadn't needed to see the good doctor for over three years now. Although the regular sessions had ended soon after that first traumatic year, now and again something would happen to make him regress… make the nightmares come back and they would have to call Lindsey again.

Chris would stop eating, stop sleeping and find excuses to stay off Wyatt's and Leo's radar so they wouldn't know. With their busy lives, obviously it wasn't possible to keep constant tabs on each other all the time. It would take a public bout of hypoglycaemia or a phone call from Phoebe to figure something was wrong… again. Then Wyatt would have an attack of his own. He would kick and curse himself for the next two months for not paying enough attention… and then he'd fret and fuss all over his little brother round the clock until Chris would just…_Scream_.

"I don't understand…. what happened to bring this about?"

Wyatt bit his lip. God knows he had loved this woman all those years ago. But Lindsey could stand his secretiveness and constant hiding only so long. The truth, or rather the lack of it had finally driven them apart. And though they remained good friends, Lindsey did not expect him to suddenly start pouring his heart out to her.

Ever.

"I… I don't know. Must have been something I said, or did."

Wyatt sounded so worried and self-recriminating on the phone, Lindsey wanted to come over right away. He told her not to.

"Okay if you say so, when do you wanna bring him in?"

Wyatt scrunched his face up again, the exhaustion finally catching up with him. He hadn't slept for three nights now.

"Uhh, I… will let you know Lindsey. First, I gotta go _find_ him."

"What? He ran away from home? Wyatt this sounds way too serious than ever before. I think you should…"

"Lindsey yeah, listen. I will call and let you know when to book an appointment okay. I gotta go…"

"But… Wyatt?"

"gotta go… bye!"

Wyatt hung up and heaved a big sigh. He hated lying to her but this was so not the time to explain to her the Halliwell genealogy. While he waited for Phoebe to call for him… he contacted two oracles, one reformed seer and an ex-Elder in hiding to find something to restore Chris' powers. Then he tried a couple of concoctions improvising on their suggestions and classic strength potions and such. He was still cooking when Paige orbed into the kitchen.

"aunt Paige?"

He wiped off his hands and ran to where she appeared, very surprised to see her. But then he shouldn't have been, Chris always called for Paige to side up with him against big brother to get his way. Be it to buy a new car, or to be allowed to live away from the manor…

She looked disoriented, shaken.

"Are you okay? Where's aunt Phoebe?"

"oh Wyatt…"

And for the first time in eight years that Wyatt remembered so very vividly, Paige opened her arms to him. He couldn't believe his eyes but wasted no time before holding the woman to himself. Phoebe having vowed never to step foot in the manor again, had asked to be orbed back to Hong Kong. Paige had traveled back but couldn't return to Magic School yet. A very bad feeling brewed at the pit of her stomach.

"I didn't know what to do… he's fighting so hard!"

Wyatt replied with silence. Paige pulled back, reason returning to the fore.

"You've got to get him back to the manor. Maybe the new memories of this place will be too strong to deny and he will _have _to accept them."

"Okay, that's a plan. How?"

"Use the summoning spell. And then don't let him leave!"

Wyatt closed his eyes, and began to pace. He loved to pace, it helped him think.

"I don't wanna do that aunt Paige. He… he thinks I robbed him of his powers, that I am evil! Forcing him to do anything would just… make things worse."

"So what, you're just gonna wait till he gets hungry and runs out of garbage cans to pick from?"

He scowled at her and she scowled back.

"No… I was hoping he'd come back to, wanna talk to mom…"

It was Paige's turn to look hassled and pace.

"Yeah… _that _could take awhile. He is not ready. He thinks he's failed her again…"

Wyatt literally heard his heart shatter. He wasn't sure he'd done right by his little brother anymore. But then he couldn't have let him be stuck in limbo for the rest of eternity either.

"Jesus."

"Do anything Wyatt. With his powers gone… the Second Progeny is too vulnerable to be on the streets alone!"

The deep foreboding Wyatt had felt all morning returned with ferocity.

"You think I don't know that… but aunt Paige I just want him to start trusting me again and if…"

Wyatt couldn't complete. Suddenly his ears reverberated with a desperate call on the spirit winds. What he'd feared the most had now come to pass. His fists clenched and his jaw set with cold rage.

"Wyatt what is it….?"

…

"Wyatt?"

No time to explain. The wizard orbed out gracefully, leaving Paige to stare after him.

-----

Chris stalked out into the sun-less winter morning, leaving his two aunts calling after him in the back-office of P3. They wouldn't understand, they wouldn't help him bring mom back. Well fine, he would find another way to accomplish what he'd set his heart out to do. Stubborn as it was.

He was about five blocks away, sticking to the back alleys where no one he knew would run into him. Lost in thought, it took awhile before he heard the soft fall of rapid footsteps behind him, steadily closing in. Alarm bells went off in his head and he spun around in a hurry only to ram straight into the oncoming figure in the shadows of the dark alley.

A full-body collision followed and Chris saw stars lighting up behind his eyelids as his temples throbbed with the impact. He opened his eyes just in time to see the other person had not been affected whatsoever, and that the other person was a woman.

A stronger, older… beautiful woman.

"Bianca?"

Chris couldn't believe his eyes. The assassin witch suddenly lunged at him pulling him back towards herself and behind the dumpster. The couple fell with a loud thump to the ground, Chris landing on top but feeling no advantage. This woman always managed to unnerve him. This woman he'd loved with all his heart… who'd betrayed him only to save him… who'd died for him. He looked down at her hands, no ring and somehow, he was relieved. Where did her loyalties lie in this world? And did he really care?

_Maybe. Maybe not._

Chris was relieved at least she lived. But then… she was still an assassin witch wasn't she?

"What are you doing…"

Biance clasped her hand over his mouth to silence him. With another she gripped him hard on his side… preventing him from putting any distance between his body and hers. She gripped the flesh right under his armpit and Chris would have yelped if she hadn't already been covering his mouth and it occurred to him if this was an attempt on his life… Bianca wasn't really making an effort at all. Then he noticed her eyes… those big black eyes rimmed with blacker kohl and blacker shadow… menacing mesmerizing eyes. It was with her eyes that she discreetly signaled him to look over his shoulder.

Great. More assassin witches.

Three males dressed in black leather from head to toe and holding nasty athames in their grip descended on the duo. Chris felt rage building up inside him… the rage of betrayal… again, and he pushed away from her, rising to his feet, ready for offense.

"Thought you always worked _alone_."

He didn't look at the witch as he taunted her, transfixed at the threat closing in. The woman wasn't looking at Chris either.

"I still do."

Chris looked at her with a frown, and noticed she was in position just as he was… facing the three men as they now stood not four feet away. Bianca stood beside him.

Of the three assailants, the one in the middle was the obvious leader. He stared Bianca down with lascivicious disgust in his eyes.

"Traitor…" he hissed.

Chris hoped his surprise was not too evident.

"Asshole." The woman retorted.

And the men attacked. The couple fought back, Bianca taking on one and then another one before he could get to Chris. The leader headed for the prized bounty, going straight away for the kill. He threw an energy ball which Chris ducked, then veered out of the way of his other blows. But when there was no way to avoid the sharp double-edged blade, the pacifist in him shut up and he charged back. Grabbing the wrist that wielded the knife, Chris let out a war cry which propelled his exhausted body into action. He twisted the assailant's arm turning him around and stabbed his knee into the assassin's back. The latter cried out in agony and Chris twisted his arm all that more until the fist opened and the athame fell to the ground. The assassin managed to direct an energy ball at Chris that hit the boy in his middle, tearing through his abdomen. Chris cried out in pain and let go. The assassin turned around and punched Chris right in his chest and the thrust sent him flying across the alley to hit the wall behind.

"Chris!"

Bianca screamed but was too occupied with the other two assassins to be able to help Chris. Balls of fire flew back and forth and there was only so much she could do without getting hit herself. The boy got up just as his attacker lunged at him with the athame again. He barely swerved out of the way and the knife slashed deep through his right shoulder. Chris let out a loud hiss and swung at the man with all his strength. The assassins were not taking any hostages.

The fights went on like that for a few minutes that seemed to stretch an eternity. Bianca killed one assassin and just when she thought she'd had the other one as well, she was distracted by a rustle from her left. Chris was alerted by the noise at the same time and to their horror realized four more assassin witches were heading towards them. Bianca sank her fatal fist into the second witch's chest ripping his powers out until he crumbled to ashes. Then she shimmered out of the way of another witch and headed towards Chris who still battled with the leader.

"Barker!"

She knew his name. The assassin was distracted and Chris kicked out at his outstretched hand that held the athame. He lost his grip and Chris lunged for the weapon just as Barker came after him again. While Chris was on the ground trying to grab the athame, Barker kicked into his already assaulted middle knocking him three feet up into the air and into dizzyingly high throes of pain. Bianca got intercepted before she could reach him and the blow she threw at Barker he easily ducked.

Then Barker came at the boy again. Chris was on his hands and knees, struggling to stand. He was drained and his open wounds were bleeding him dry. He could barely speak, he could barely breathe.

"I will rip your heart out for what your brother did to me!"

Barker reached for the injured boy and was about to grab his neck to snap it in two… but he wasn't fast enough. Chris stabbed him in the chest, through his black heart. With his own cursed athame.

"Now that's just unfair don't you think?"

Barker's dust did not respond. Chris sank to the floor once again. He could see Bianca struggling with the three remaining assassins still, keeping them engaged all at once so none of them could touch Chris. He knew she would soon need help. But God he had no energy left… the pain was too much to bear and Chris fought to stay conscious. Knocked out, he was as good as dead. He tried orbing, it didn't work.

_Oh God. This is it._

"Wyatt!"

Vaguely he heard Bianca screaming his brother's name. Now why was she doing that? As far as he was concerned, the assassins could have just as easily been sent by his evil-brother himself. What good would calling him do? He was only going to… to make it quicker… but given the pain he was in right now…

_Quick is good. Oh yeah._

Bianca screamed again.

"Call for Wyatt!"

Two assassins were still left. Two energy balls hit Bianca simultaneously, one at her left thigh and another to her right shoulder. She fell to the ground, out of commission long enough for one of the assassins to head towards Chris. The boy did not realize the oncoming threat as he writhed in pain on the ground himself.

"Watch out!"

Bianca threw a vanquishing blow at the guy she knew was Barker's right hand Herbert. The man blew up – only to reassemble again and by now Chris had started backing up, crawling away. A crushing blow to the back of her head took her by surprise and sent Bianca unconscious, leaving the two assassin witches standing over Chris' curled up body. It was then the two assassins suddenly realized they had reached a turning point in their lives.

A shrill, ugly hiss. "Well, well… The _Second Progeny _himself."

Cruel laughter, and approaching footsteps now closer. Chris was losing sense of what was going on anymore, his limbs slowly going numb. He was dying again.

_Damn it I should have known it couldn't last._

"Kill him, before his brother comes!"

The other only laughed.

"No one is coming for him anymore…"

Chris closed his eyes, very much inclined to agree.

"The Power of the Progenies is dead…"

_Er, What?_

"Oh yeah… and by killing you we make sure it stays dead!"

And that self-congratulatory chuckle again. A ball of flames appeared in the hands of the one called Terence. Chris panicked. He needed time to think of how to get out of this, he needed to stall.

"How… how did you know?"

_where to find me?_

And the assassin smiled. "You mean besides Mr. Brian Popple giving us the lowdown on your activities on a daily basis?"

_Congratulations. Looks like big brother finally cut you loose._

_Shit. _

"Cant you just feel it in the air witch? The perfect imbalance? All of underworld is buzzing with excitement thanks to you!"

Chris' expression must have given away his confusion. The assassins laughs mirthlessly, totally enjoying their position of control.

"Fallout of the Charmed brothers… this has been the moment every dark-worlder has waited for, for eight years! And this moment of eternal glory… is Ours!!"

The assassins mighty pleased with themselves, both generated flowers of flames in their hands. Shiny, beautiful flames…

_Oh. Shit._

Things fell into place as memories of a new life, a new destiny invaded his tortured mind… the destiny of the Charmed Progenies now symbolized by the triquetra symbol on the Book of Shadows… the showdown with Wyatt must have inadverdently wrecked the magical balance and tipped the scales off in evil's favor!

The stubborn will to live… to survive, that did not abandon him even after he was practically dead… now returned full force. He was not giving in. With the last ounce of breath he could muster, Chris opened his mouth.

"Wyatt…"

_Wyatt._

Herbert drew his hand to let go of the projectile in his hands. And then the ball of fire was sailing through the air… almost as if in slow motion… towards Chris. The boy decided he was not going to close his eyes. He would look his death in the eye, scared as he may be. As it turned out, he had to do no such thing.

The ball disappeared mid-way, inches away from Chris's bruised face. The energy plucked straight out of air and Chris saw it disappear into an outstretched palm. That belonged to Wyatt.

"Uh-oh."

The assassins obviously knew who it was that had crashed their private party.

"You guys talk too much you know."

There was mirth, and there was also sheer incomprehensible fury in the voice that belonged to the First Progeny.

The assassins trembled with hesitation. And the one called Terence shimmered away before his partner could stop him.

"Terence wait!"

He called out, a second too late. But Herbert was not about to run away in cowardice, instead he chose to die in stupidity.

"My death will be avenged." He muttered with angry conviction.

"I will look forward to it."

Herbert turned his blows at Wyatt. The older Halliwell simply blinked and reduced the witch to a pile of ash within seconds.

Chris who'd propped himself on the uninjured elbow watching everything finally let go and he fell back on the ground. His breath was shallow and his heart pulsated rapidly. Bianca slowly got up, rubbing the bump on her head where she'd been hit. And Wyatt… checked the perimeter to see if there were any more assassins lurking about. Finding none, he ran towards Chris.

"Chris!"

Chris did not answer, just stared at his big brother and the obvious concern clouding his eyes. Wyatt went to his side and gently picked his head up, supporting his neck on his arm.

"Chris? Talk to me kid."

Chris managed to slightly nod. Wyatt looked up at where Bianca now stood looking around.

"Are you alright?" he asked the woman.

"I'm fine. But they'll be back any time."

"Yeah we're outta here now."

Wyatt slipped one arm under Chris' folded knees, another around his waist and gently gathered Chris to himself. He was very mindful of the boy's injuries and cursed under his breath, something about only getting to blow up one of the assassins. He stood up with Chris in his arms as the younger boy lay exhausted and suffering, his head resting limp on Wyatt's chest. He didn't need to pick him up to orb him, he just did so to touch the boy and ensure himself that he was here… still here with him.

"Hurts…"

"Shh… I know, I'm sorry." Wyatt whispered while at the same time he orbed. A second later, he was standing in the manor's hall.

"We're home kid."

Paige came running towards them.

"Oh my God what happened?"

Wyatt placed Chris' limp form on the couch and crouched before him to heal the injured boy. Chris moaned softly, he would have writhed if Wyatt wasn't holding him still. The assassins' weapons are always cursed with dark magic and no ordinary whitelighter could have been able to heal its inflicted wounds. Wyatt was no ordinary whitelighter of course, but the healing would still take some time.

"Almost there baby, hold on… hold on."

Paige crouched beside Wyatt and stroked Chris' brow with gentle fingers, trying to soothe his pain if at all it were possible.

"You'll be fine Chris… you're doing just fine…"

Chris believed her. He could feel the pain slowly dissipating although it still stung like hell. God his guts couldn't possibly withstand being torn apart twice in the same day! Some minutes later, his senses seem to kick back in gear, and he could feel his shoulder again. It didn't seem to be hanging by a delicate tendon anymore. The ribcage seemed to be not broken anymore, though breathing was still painful. And he could feel the plush hand on his arm, massaging it gently… Wyatt's hand… as if trying to transfer some of his strength magically to his little brother. Chris felt extremely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to slip into unconsciousness. Shouldn't be a problem now… Wyatt would watch over him… wont he?

_Power of the Progenies… Wyatt and Chris Halliwell…_

_Fallout of the Charmed brothers…_

_the moment every dark-worlder has waited for, for eight years…_

_Oh God…_

"You came…"

He whispered, painfully… not intending to at all. Wyatt just barely heard it, a rush of warmth filling his heart… a warmth called hope.

"You called for me…"

Chris smiled, or at least tried to. Wyatt smiled ever so gently and bent to kiss his forehead. He rested his forehead against his brother's for a long time… the relief and the realization of what almost happened sinking in now that Chris was as healed as he could possibly be by magic. Some regeneration would just have to happen by itself.

"Stop giving me scares will you?" he whispered urgently.

Chris did smile at that.

"Stop saving me… I'm not, I don't…"

"Shut up."

Wyatt was extremely upset at what Chris was about to suggest. He picked him up again and hugged him close to himself. Paige stood on the side, watching the brothers' reunion, so to speak.

Wyatt pushed the stray hair from Chris' face to meet his eyes, assuring his brother with the faith that shone in his own blue eyes.

"We'll get through this… together I promise. Like we did before, okay?"

Chris didn't… couldn't answer.

"I love you so much Chris. And I am not losing any more family anymore. You hear me?"

Chris mutely nodded, his fatigue taking over.

_Not losing any family anymore…_

Wyatt missed mom as much as he did. Wyatt wanted mom back as much as he wanted. Wyatt was the most powerful being to have ever existed in any dimension.

_Why would you not bring her back?_

_Why would you do nothing to fix this?_

Chris surrendered to his brother's strong embrace, and fell asleep.

* * *

(TBC). Please please review? :) Next up - More on why Lindsey still calls. And Wyatt promises to give Chris his powers back... on one _little _condition... 


	13. Chapter 13

**

* * *

**

**Cyn**: hello people! Thank you thank you so much for your sweet encouragements. I don't know what I would do without you guys. Normally it would be like - I write hence you read. But here in my case its totally - You read hence I write! No wait - You read And review, hence I write! :D YOU are my muse! You are the reason! You're getting sick of this I can see, okkay moving on ;)  
Calen - I'm hoping it was losing the match that got you so worked up and not my writing? :P You did raise all valid questions, the same ones Chris is struggling with right now. But I'm hoping all of them will be answered in time. I also hope I can convince you with the plot that I have in mind :)  
The symbol on the BoS is called a triquetra. I wanted to imply that the Charmed ones' destiny is still alive, so I figure the symbol shouldn't change just because there are 2 people now instead of 3… make sense? :)  
Mush alert again guys.. hey I'm an emotional person:) On with the story…

* * *

Chris slept the day through, he was perfectly spent. After he collapsed in the hall, Wyatt carried him upstairs to his bedroom and tucked him in. Covered him upto his chin with blankets but also left a window slightly ajar to let a cool breeze in. A younger Chris had once told Wyatt he didn't like to be completely warm, instead he preferred to be a little bit cold… just enough that made it all the more enjoyable to snuggle under the covers. Smiling at the innocent memory, Wyatt stood a long while leaning by the door frame with his arms crossed, watching the boy sleep.  
  
_What can I do? What can I possibly say?  
  
_"Wyatt…"  
  
Paige came up behind him, breaking him out of his reverie. He sighed deeply, softly closing the door behind him and turned around to face his aunt.  
  
"She's here."  
  
Wyatt nodded and the two headed on downstairs to where the assassin witch stood. Her stance cold and rigid as always.  
  
"Thank you." Wyatt said to her softly.  
  
Bianca stared back. "You pay me to do my job."  
  
Wyatt knew that was not the reason. He merely stood watching the woman intently, while Paige walked away to a corner, observing the exchange.  
  
"Your cover's blown, its not safe for you to go to the coven now. I could arrange for you to…"  
  
"I'm not running away. The crisis isn't over yet. Terence escaped and by now everyone down there knows Chris doesn't have his powers."  
  
Of course. If Chris had had his powers, Barker wouldn't have gotten as close to killing him as he did.  
  
Wyatt at this point was more angry with himself than anyone else. He did put Bianca on Chris' tail after he ran out of the manor last night and the woman had guarded him all night, even when he slept out in the open, unprotected. Wyatt himself stood watch over him but had returned in the morning when Leo called for him. He never should have left or this would never have happened.  
  
Twice in twenty four hours… it was more than he could bear. And Leo didn't even know yet.  
  
He turned back to Bianca, his jaw clenched tight.  
  
One of the missions Leo assigned to him was to return the assassin witches back to the side they truly belonged. They had all once been extremely powerful, good witches but after an ancestor was turned by a warlock into a cold-hearted assassin back in the eighteen-sixtees, every descendant since had abandoned the light for the dark. They were still extremely strong though, and with their unique ability to steal powers from others… getting stronger. Wyatt had managed to undo the ancestral curse and convert about fourteen of the SF coven. They all worked for him now, for a small compensation of course. A century of bounty-hunter breeding cant just go away overnight. But Wyatt now knew the stories Leo told him of the assassins' fierce loyalty were not exaggerated.  
  
"No one else is exposed yet right?"  
  
Bianca shook her head.  
  
"Good. I still think you should take off, go see your mother. The house in Burge is protected so you wont have to worry."  
  
Bianca hesitated, flitter of pain crossing her alabaster face.  
  
"Bianca listen to me…"  
  
She looked away, not willing to… to abandon Chris.  
  
"I think it would be easier on both of you to… you could use the distance right now. You know how much he wants to move on with his life. And that would be very difficult if you're around. Besides, you don't know all of what's happened to him…"  
  
Bianca rattled almost automatedly.  
  
"His memories are all mixed up and he doesn't know what or who to believe."  
  
…  
  
"I know… I saw it in his eyes this morning. He doesn't remember me… or us…"  
  
Wyatt bit his lip and waited. He hated playing the _ex_ card but she had to be sent away so she could be safe. Bianca looked back at him, the mask having fallen back in place.  
  
"I will leave on one condition - you call me if you ever need to… you call me."  
  
"I will."  
  
They gazed at each other a moment longer. Then she shimmered and was gone.  
  
Paige had fixed herself a drink (orange juice) and now came forth to sit on the couch. She sighed, knowing the history there. Bianca and Chris had broken up only two months ago. There used to be arguments off and on, but somehow they would make up everytime, except the last time of course. There was genuine love there once.  
  
"What is it with you brothers and older women anyway?"  
  
Wyatt let out a short chuckle as he took a seat beside her.  
  
"Sure didn't help to grow up around two beautiful aunts who loved to strut around half-naked in the house!"  
  
Paige's mouth went wide open with mock horror.  
  
"We never _strutted_!"  
  
He laughed some more and she threw a cushion at his face. Then she laughed too. It was good to be back at the manor, with family.  
  
"So how is Lindsey?"  
  
The nephew shrugged. "She's okay… called this morning, asking about Chris. I wouldn't know how to explain to Dr. Rydill what happened this time, let alone Lin."  
  
Paige frowned. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Right now, we gotta make sure Chris stays inside the manor until his powers return."  
  
"Yeah and what's with that? Why are his powers still down?"  
  
Just then Leo orbed in.  
  
"Hey" and then seeing someone he did not expect, "Paige?"  
  
Paige got up to give brother-in-law a hug. When she parted she gave him a sharp glare.  
  
"You missed a lot."  
  
Leo raised an eyebrow intrigued, specially since Wyatt refused to look him in the eye.

--------

When Chris woke up, it was dark outside but a lamp shone somewhere on the inside. Slowly his eyes opened and took his surroundings. He was in his bedroom, it was night and automatically he reached for the digital watch he knew stood on the table to his right.  
  
**21:17  
  
June 27, 2026. Saturday.**  
  
_Dude… you got an exam in two days._  
  
Not good. He rubbed his eyes and scratched the fresh stubble on his face. His head felt woozy and it made him wonder how much he had to drink last night… then he wondered what time he came back home and… did he actually sleep all day? Chris raised an eyebrow to himself, was still having trouble keeping his eyes open though.  
  
_Shit. Wouldn't be the first time._  
  
He'd done it before, partying hard all Friday evening up until Saturday morning and returning only after cleaning up and closing P3. Wyatt would be annoyed, but he'd let him sleep in as long as he wanted. Well… he never slept till it got dark before? And he sure didn't remember closing up the club either… oops. How totally sloshed was he?  
  
He pushed himself out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. Noticed he was in his sleeping t-shirt and boxers and couldn't remember changing his clothes…  
  
_Damn._  
  
Did Wyatt have to come get him last night again? Oh crap. He was so gonna not _ever_ hear the end of it.  
  
Went in, switched on the light and faced the mirror.  
  
_What the?_  
  
Where did all the bruises come from? He saw himself looking back at him… but there was something in the face that wasn't him. Not… really him.  
  
Chris stared.  
  
And then he was standing at the end of a long dark tunnel with a tiny flickering light at the other end that beckoned him. He focused on that light as if in a trance and suddenly the ground beneath his feet gave away and he felt himself propelling into the dark void like he was being sucked in! Into that gaping blackhole of… pain… and guilt and… memories that came at him from nowhere and everywhere… rushing past him and into him… his face, his eyes, his nose, his mouth…  
  
_We'll get through this… together I promise._  
Chris choked, then hyperventilated. Breaths rapid and incessant and too hard on his heart… beating too fast…  
_Kill him, before his brother comes!  
_His brother the First Progeny… Wyatt… Wyatt who killed his friends, who killed Bianca… who almost killed him…  
_You sound just like Gideon.  
_No. Not him… anyone but him!  
_If he wanted you out of the way why would he bring you back in the first place?  
_  
His knees collapsed and Chris fell to the floor, eventually dragging himself to rest against the shower door. He was cold and he was sweating. He would have retched if there was anything inside to throw up. Instead he just hugged his knees to his chest, tightly.  
_Go back to the manor darling and speak to your mother  
_Yes… he needed to face mom but God how could he?  
_Wyatt! Wyatt please, mom's bleeding!! Mom hold on!! Hold on please!! Wyatt!!  
_His lungs contracted painfully and he gasped, his shoulder throbbed.  
_You blamed yourself for not being able to save mom when the attack came.  
_He knew… of course he would know…  
_You and I, we have a brothers' bond…  
_Just like the sisters did… Pru, Paige, Phoebe… Piper.  
_You wouldn't let me change the bed covers and sheets for weeks. You… you missed her so much…  
_But wasn't he evil? Anymore? Wasn't he the one to blame for… for…  
  
_I don't want you to be evil!  
Nothing changed. Nothing fucking changed!  
_No that wasn't true… some things changed. The Golden gate still stands… he was not having a meltdown in a museum's public lavatory…  
_Welcome home son _  
Was he welcome really? What had he done ever since he came back? Wrecked havoc? Thrown accusations left, right and center? Did he really belong here?

_shh baby boy, just let me hold you…  
_Chris closed his eyes, hitting his head on the door behind him with deliberate force. The memory of his father's soft voice alone washing over him like soothing balm to his aching wounds. And he sure had many of them. Which was ironic considering he was the son to a healer… brother to a healer… a brother whom he refused to trust despite the fact that Wyatt had done nothing but save him ever since he'd brought Chris back…  
_Happy Birthday Chris  
_… from the dead.  
  
_Easy… easy baby. I got you Chris  
_The breathing came easy, the trembling trickled away.  
  
"Chris?"  
  
He suddenly realised Leo was calling for him. Chris opened his eyes just as Leo walked into the room not having received a response to his knocking. He couldn't allow him to see his son in such a pathetic state again. He'd caused enough stress to everyone he knew for one day, thank you very much.  
  
"Chris you in there?"  
  
Chris quickly got to his feet and locked the door before Leo could enter.  
  
"Yeah… I'm in the shower dad."  
  
Not like doors could actually stop the Elder but hey, he was not going to walk in on his _supposedly_ bathing son. At least Chris hoped he wouldn't.  
  
Leo didn't ask him how come he couldn't hear the water running. Chris realized soon enough though and ran to turn the tap. Leo smiled.  
  
"Okay… just wanted to see how you were doing."  
  
Chris smiled, had to shout now over the water's noise.  
  
"I'm… fine! Everything's fine dad!"  
  
_Don't lie to me kid._  
  
Chris leaned against the door on his side, Leo leaned on his. The boy fidgeted, wanting nothing more than to open the damn door, run to his father's arms and tell him about the bizarre episode he just had. He held his silence, and finally heard the resigned sigh in Leo's voice from the other side.  
  
"Okay, come down for dinner when you're done. How does steak sound?"  
  
Chris softly smiled. "You're vegetarian dad."  
  
Not to mention, you don't really need to eat at all, he thought but didn't say it. Leo smiled too, and reflexively placed a kiss on the door before heading out of the room.  
  
"Hurry up."  
  
"Okay."  
  
And when Chris realized Leo was gone, he sank to the floor again. This was going to be more difficult than ever. He'd rather just be ranting and yelling at the top of his voice. But no… his dad deserved better from him.  
  
And perhaps… so did Wyatt?

--------

Paige needed to return to her beloved Magic School, but she promised she would keep looking for ways to restore Chris' powers. After she actually kissed the men goodbye and orbed out, Leo turned to Wyatt with a happy curiosity on his face.  
  
"What did you two do to her?"  
  
Wyatt knew what Leo meant and just shrugged smiling.  
  
"It was all Chris, not me. Guess this day made her realize she cant shun family forever."  
  
Paige not recoiling from physical contact, actually hugging and kissing people was definitely a good sign. Wyatt was setting the table for dinner as they waited for Chris to come down.  
  
"Aunt Phoebs actually let me _orb_ her to the club today."  
  
"That's amazing… I had given up hope after all these years."  
  
Leo sighed. Maybe there would be a bright side to all this chaos after all. It would definitely be great if Phoebe would let go of the past and actually come back to the manor someday. Probably wasn't too probable though.  
  
Chris showered and shaved and changed into a steel blue tee-shirt and well-worn but excellent condition black jeans. He was amazed at how huge and classy his wardrobe was. Back in his world he had never had enough money or time or even inclination to…  
  
_Damn it._  
  
He couldn't stop comparing the old life with this new one. But maybe that was the whole point. Chris being more clear-headed now than before, could see the differences between that world and this one… even though he kept reminding himself constantly how it all still depended on Wyatt's morality. It wouldn't take long to revert back to the badness if Wyatt was ever to…  
  
_Don't go there Chris. Not now._  
  
Chris sighed, and brushed his hair back from his face. They were of a longer length than he would normally prefer… then reminded himself he probably did prefer longer hair _normally_.  
  
_Jesus._  
  
Was it any surprise he was losing his mind? He took deep breaths, one then another and another. Then headed out of his room for dinner.  
  
The sight of Wyatt in an apron standing by the hotplate was enough to bring a brief chuckle to Chris and draw the men's attention towards him. Wyatt scowled jokingly at him just before the light moment disappeared and Chris avoided looking at him altogether after that. Wyatt decided he would just have to wait, at least Chris was not attacking him.  
  
Dinner went well, by everyone's standards. They made rapid small talk - mostly Wyatt and Leo because Chris was content to just smile and nod and generally not make eye contact with them at all. They did not push him and for that Chris was grateful. Besides he was famished and didn't want to be disturbed while he ate like a pig.

Later, when Chris got up from the table and wondered what he was expected to do next, Leo spoke up.  
  
"Isn't it your turn with the dishes today?"  
  
Leo was handing him the silly apron and Chris looked at him like he'd lost his mind.  
  
"Its okay dad, I'll do it."  
  
And Wyatt went to take the apron again. Chris frowned, wondering why he suddenly felt inclined to take on household chores.  
  
"No wait, I got it."  
  
Chris put on the apron and headed to the sink, so he missed the unhappy glower Wyatt threw at Leo. Leo just smiled waving away the older brother's protectiveness and shortly announced he needed to go check up on an old charge of his. Then orbed out, leaving Wyatt and Chris alone. Immediately, Chris tensed up. But continued to rinse the dishes and place them in the dishwasher.  
  
"Here let me help you with…"  
  
"I said I got it." Wyatt backed off quietly. Chris didn't look up at him again, though he suddenly felt guilty for snapping at him. He didn't mean to, he just… the proximity with this man he'd feared so much and still did, maybe wrongly and maybe not… was making him edgy.  
  
When Chris was done, he rinsed his hands, wiped off on a towel Wyatt handed him and took off the apron. He took his time folding it, not wanting to look at Wyatt even as he was continually aware Wyatt was looking at him. Finally, he realized he couldn't wait any longer. He put the apron to one side and looked up… at Wyatt. His voice trembled ever so slightly, but he managed to keep it together. "I don't know how to believe you."  
  
Wyatt stood passive, the hurt wouldn't have been evident to an outsider but somehow Chris knew. The older man did not respond.  
  
"Earlier, when I woke up in mom's… in my bedroom, for a few minutes I was… you know, your Chris. All these thoughts about college and the club filled my mind and they were all so…"  
  
…  
  
Wyatt waited. "So?"  
  
"… normal."  
  
…  
  
"It was like I was standing in one corner looking at myself going through these… _motions_ of a real life… an actual normal life. And then…"  
  
Chris moved away from the kitchen sink now, clearly agitated.  
  
"then I don't know what happened. One look in the mirror and Bam! I… _slammed_ back into… me again."  
  
Chris winced, knowing how crazy he must have sounded. Wyatt just nodded, understanding.  
  
"I know I wasn't the best-est brother in your last life… you wouldn't have such a hard time trusting me if… if you weren't so scared of what he did to you."  
  
Chris snorted. "Scared?"  
  
_Its true, you're scared._  
  
Wyatt bit his lip and said nothing.  
  
"Look, I'm just trying not to make the same mistakes twice alright?"  
  
"The mistake of trusting me you mean?"  
  
Chris did not answer.  
  
"What happened Chris? What did he do to you?"  
  
It was not lost on Chris that Wyatt used _he_ instead of _I _to refer to the evil version of himself. Chris liked that. But he didn't want to talk about it. He suddenly found himself wishing he could forget everything about his last life altogether.  
  
"I wish you'd find something to turn me off completely. Leave the real Chris like he's supposed to be."  
  
"Chris!"  
  
The boy was taken aback by the sudden passion in his brother's voice. Wyatt took a step closer to where Chris stood, wanting so much to hold the boy but he couldn't.  
  
"I didn't bring you back to _turn_ you off!"  
  
Chris yelled at him now. "Yeah? Why did you then? I wish you hadn't!"  
  
And the boy rushed to get away but Wyatt was faster. He caught Chris by the elbow and one hand holding his head behind the right ear.  
  
"Hey… listen to me, listen to me Chris!"  
  
He tugged at Chris' hair a little to emphasise his point.  
  
"You _are_ the real Chris. You are not two people - you are one unique guy who helped create a better future! A better world. Chris you have no idea how grateful I am to you."  
  
And then Wyatt let go, hoping he would stay on his own.  
  
"I asked you what he did to you but truth is I don't wanna know! I don't know if I have the guts to listen to a description of _myself_ in another world that made you… hate me so much."  
  
There was genuine emotion, even fear in his voice. Chris felt surprisingly at ease and uncompelled to get away just yet.  
  
_Throwin in the towel already? You never learn do ya?_  
  
Chris flinched. Okay, a section of his being was still impervious to Wyatt's charms. And now that section needed to get away. He turned around and saw the door to the garden. Walked towards it, opened it and stepped out into the moonlit night. It was just as beautiful and tended as he'd seen it in the past. Wyatt followed but stopped at the doorway, leaning against it.  
  
"You've taken good care of mom's garden."  
  
"What makes you think I do?"  
  
Chris looked back at him. "I do it?"  
  
Wyatt snorted. "Oh Noo."  
  
The boy frowned, then his eyes widened. "Mom! She… still waters her plants doesn't she?"  
  
Wyatt smiled. "Yep."  
  
"What is it with ghosts and weird fixations? I'd much rather prefer she _cook_ for us."  
  
"And that's your way to tell me a zillionth time I suck at cooking, thanks man."  
  
Chris just made a face that made Wyatt laugh. At last a civil conversation, he mused. Meanwhile Chris marveled at the fact he actually talked about Piper without losing it… for a whole three seconds. He was _losing_ it now.  
  
Wyatt saw the boy going slightly pale.  
  
"Chris you okay?"  
  
Chris just nodded, and looked away.  
  
"Don't you… don't you wanna see mom?"  
  
Chris blinked. Yes… he should… he wanted to see Piper so bad it hurt. But at the same time, he feared what she would say, what seeing her would do to him…  
  
No. He wanted to see her alive damn it! She was not supposed to be a flimsy pale shadow of the woman that she was only yesterday. Chris shifted his feet, the panic slowly building up in him and Wyatt caught on.  
  
"Chris, tell me what you're thinking."  
  
Wyatt demanded, softly. Chris looked at him, then away. Part of him wanting to pour his heart out but he restrained himself. He didn't wanna talk about… anything really anymore. No wait… there was one thing.  
  
"I… I want my powers back."  
  
Wyatt nodded. "I'm working on it."  
  
"How long will it take?"  
  
"Shouldn't take too long. I think I almost cracked it. Although…"  
  
"What?"  
  
Wyatt sighed, as if contemplating whether to speak his mind or not. In that very moment, Chris thought he looked very much like his father.  
  
"In a way, I think your powers being down is like… a good thing."  
  
Chris snorted and shook his head. "I don't believe this."  
  
"Think about it. You never trusted the Wyatt you knew. Maybe when you came into this new world, the spell took away your powers to make you not fight this… _new_ me and see that here I _can_ be trusted. Even when… when you're not in the best position to defend yourself against me."  
  
Chris glared at him with scorn.  
  
"You're just glad I haven't been able to blow you up in one of my fits of rage!"  
  
Wyatt nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah, that too."  
  
Chris glared again, but couldn't help it. He laughed. Wyatt joined in.  
  
It also worked cleverly to keep Chris at the manor, where he was sure to adjust to his new life faster. He was not safe outside the force field and Chris was very well aware of that now.  
  
After awhile, he just shook his head. "I still want them back."  
  
"I'll get em back. I promise."  
  
Chris felt a shiver up his spine… he realized he believed the man! At least he was terribly terribly inclined to.  
  
"On one condition."  
  
Chris bit his lip, much in the same way Wyatt would now and again.  
  
"What."  
  
Wyatt took a moment. "Go see mom."  
  
Chris sighed. Its what Phoebe had asked him to do too… talk to your mother. Damn it, what hope would he have left if his own dead mother discouraged him from trying to get her back? Cant be… she would want to be back surely. She wouldn't want to be away from her kids right? Piper had been scared of not being there for her children the way her mother wasn't around for her and her sisters. He knew that for a fact - after all it was recorded as part of the Charmed Ones' history and preserved in the Halliwell museum back in his old world.  
  
Chris nodded mutely.  
  
"Will you help me?"  
  
Chris had never been able to get all the tools for a séance set right by himself. Wyatt led the way up to the attic and Chris followed.  
  
Once inside, Chris was reminded of the last time he'd been up here… when he had accused Wyatt and Wyatt had blamed him in turn. On some level, he knew that none of them could possibly have done anything given their circumstances. But the loss of a mother is too harsh to accept and displacing blame is probably the most natural of all human reactions. He should know, he was majoring in psychology after all.  
  
The candles were lit, and Wyatt now stood at the book beckoning Chris to his side. Chris came tentatively and stopped a few feet away from him. Wyatt frowned then understood.  
  
"Okay this is the spell, you've seen it before. I'll… be downstairs if you need me."  
  
And Wyatt shoved his hands in his khakhi trouser pockets and made to move out. Chris went and stood by the book and looked at the spell.  
  
"Wyatt?"  
  
The wizard turned around. "Yeah?"  
  
"Did you… send Bianca after me to… "  
  
Wyatt was nodding already. Chris didn't need to finish the question, and another answer supplied itself to his mind that froze him for a second - Wyatt had an army of assassin witches working for him… even in this world.  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"Umm yeah, I… I don't think I wired the money to Mahogony's account for last night?"  
  
"I got it." And Wyatt started walking out again.  
  
"Oh, Wyatt?"  
  
Wyatt turned around again, this time quite hopefully. "Yeah!"  
  
Chris gave him a look he somehow knew Wyatt would understand. "It was Brian."  
  
And Wyatt understood. His eyes clouded over and the eager smile disappeared. The transformation was eerie… and Chris suffered a painful flashback…

That's how Wyatt looked just before he killed his two best friends.

Wyatt nodded slightly and left the attic. Chris gathered his wits, now doubly convinced of what he must do… and looked down to the spell.

* * *

(TBC)

Okay I know I'm back to analytical mode again... but Chris needs time to sort his thoughts out and so do I ;) Please let me know what you think?? Its not so bad is it??


	14. Chapter 14

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Hey guys… So Sorry for the delay! Work's really bad these days. But Thank you guys… Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews and sweet words. I simply cannot thank you enough! I hope people are still reading this. Your reviews keep me going… specially with this chapter, it was quite difficult to write for me.  
  
**Prue: **Thank you so much for putting in so much time and effort to send me your reviews! You really drove me to sorta read the chapters you reviewed and that motivated me to start writing again, even if it meant staying up late at night after a long hard day at work ;) Thank you so much! :) 

**Calen**: Please see spoiler at the end of this chapter, maybe that would answer your question? And this is also to anyone else who is interested, you will find it at the very end of this page surrounded by big warnings!

**Tuch**: I completely agree. But if you noticed, Chris used the word "daddy" only twice and on extremely stressful occasions when he was glad that Leo was around (once when he wasn't – when Piper was dying). All other times, he refers to him as Dad. Yeah he does think the word a lot but that's to express the emotional turmoil that he is holding down within him and heck, I think of my Dad mostly as Daddy in my mind too now and then :p Uhh… doesn't everyone?  
  
**Cat:** The merging issue exists only with Chris because he was out of his timeline when it changed including everyone in that dimension. Chris is the only one who got sorta split in two and the older one died. It's a philosophical deduction on my part that they're both the same person – same soul. And that part of his soul died leaving him incomplete in some way. What was worse is that the Chris we knew got stuck in an endless limbo and would have been so if Wyatt hadn't pulled him out. Make sense? You could read chapters 3,4,5 again maybe and tell me if it still doesn't make sense? :)  
  
**Sailorwind:** Thanks! Umm which board was this? :) I so wanna finish this story soon, so I can start reading Charmed stuff myself. I don't read other people's stuff while I'm writing (to avoid getting influenced or just plain demoralized that other people write such brilliant stuff and I write crap! x:( )  
  
**Willow:** Thanks so much!:) I'm glad you're liking this story… you a snuggler too? I got that from my younger sister ;)  
  
Thank you to EVERYONE who's been reviewing! :) I know this is coming seriously late... you're probably all writers and I'm sure you know how valuable your feedback is to me! :)

Thank you - **mi-au, Stranded Stargazer, Melissa, Bessie1, Emma, Crimson Amber, Rhia, Claddagh Ring, Ligia Elena, PenguinM, Brandi, Ruth, Crimson Hurricane, Piper, Pam, ChRsTiNe17, lovehater, trinaK, NoAlias, Kel, Stony Angel, Faith, Good Witch, Feline-Feral, tp96, Lotamoxie, Bubblz, Eboni, buffspike, Reion, Erin, Random insane person :), Peets96, X3, Nautica, Leila, Sadler, MJ, darcy, BJ, Michael, Kata Malfoy, Tami, Cherry, Stephanie, Zeria, Dragonfireceo, snowy, AK8, casie, Jaspis, SpiritofEowyn, Ericsgal, Flaveh, Carla, Teresa, AJS, Issi, Aurienia, Aldrea7, Chanty, Jennifer, PurpleAnt, PomegranateQueen, beautiful-disaster (cool id:), MadelineFate, Flephanie, Denna, Tigerdrake, ChrisDrewLover and Deranged Black Kitten of Doom**. :)

Okay guys I know I've written my Chris as more a boy than a man… but that's totally intended :) It can be attributed to his troubled state of mind as well as to depict how loving and protective his family is of him. Plus its just the way I like him so, not gonna change that sorry :P On with the story… parts of it are written in first POV.

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_****_

_**-----x Previous Timeline: 2026: The World That Once Was… x-----**_  
  
The young man and his female companion walked through the triquetra portal and arrived in what once used to be the Magic School's magnificent doorway. It still was, of course, just a lot more dilapidated and… destructed than usual. The Elders had brought in Paige Matthews as headmistress to keep the fires from spreading any closer to where the future of magic was being nurtured. She was struggling but doing a good job overall.

The woman was dressed in a sleek black leather dress that split on one side right up till where her thigh began. She wore her golden hair long and loose and it spun around with her as she did, to check for any unpleasant surprises. The man was lean and scraggy, his brown jacket had seen better days and the blue jeans were torn and faded, so _not_ the look of the year. Hadn't been for over a decade. But he obviously didn't care, just glanced around longingly… with sad nostalgia. After assuring herself they were alone and relatively safe, the woman turned to her partner.  
  
"Alright we're here, what now?"

"I don't know… this is the place Marcus asked me to wait at for him."

"I still think this is a bad idea."

The man rolled his eyes at her but only in amusement.

"He is an Elder sweetheart. I would assume he can be trusted given his stature."

At that, the woman turned to stare into his eyes.  
"Your father's an Elder. You don't trust _him_."  
  
Beat.  
The man did not respond. And he wouldn't have even if they weren't interrupted.  
White orbs shimmered and amassed to make Marcus, the Elder who had summoned them here in secret. They'd taken great care to avoid Wyatt's spies and mind-probes that were everywhere.  
"Christopher. Your father sends his blessings."

Chris' expression soured even further. His extremely-busy father never had time for him otherwise because he was too busy cleaning up after his favored firstborn.  
"Whatever. What do you want from me?"

From Marcus's reaction it was clear he had not expected anything more from the kid, he just moved on.

"You know we've been trying everything to stop Wyatt and his growing dominion of darkness on earth. But it seems… nothing in this time is powerful enough to defeat him."

Chris snorted.  
"Don't I know that? The only ones who could have stopped Wyatt were the Charmed Ones and we all know why they aren't in this time anymore."

He threw a nasty glare at the timid Elder who in turn knew that Chris, like his brother, never forgave the Elders for not saving Piper's life. Bianca moved a little closer to her fiancé, sensing his growing distress. Marcus sighed and continued.  
"Yes but right now, we need to focus on the situation at hand. We believe you'd be interested in the solution we have in mind."

"Oh yeah, and why is that?"

"Because it involves the Charmed Ones."

Bianca and Chris held their breaths while Marcus took a deep nervous one.  
"Christopher, you're the only one who can be trusted enough to do this. We propose you travel back in time and save Wyatt from turning evil."

Chris frowned, the idea did have potential. Time travel had been done before he knew but it was quite complicated. Still, was it any surprise Leo should come up with a solution that meant no harm would be brought to his oldest son?  
  
He grew suspicious. "Why doesn't Leo do it himself?"

"Because its probably going to take you awhile to solve the mystery of who's behind Wyatt's turning and Leo needs to be here to keep things under as much control as possible. All we know is that it happened sometime _before_ you were born."

Chris started. "But… that's like… way back? That means…"

Chris did not verbalise further.

"Yes Christopher. We want you to go back twenty two years when your mother was still alive." His pulse raced. Chris was willing to do it right away. He needed no more convincing.

"This is great! I could warn mom and dad about… "

"NO!"  
  
Bianca and Chris jumped at the sudden loud exclamation. The Elder stood all strung up with anxiety.  
"Chris you must NOT, ever reveal the future to anyone in the past. It might have serious consequences on our present timeline!"

"But…"

"You have to promise me you will not reveal anything to anyone Christopher, if I do not have your word, I don't think we could trust you with this critical mission."

Chris was not as quick to decide as Marcus had hoped. The boy bit his lip and fidgeted. This was such a perfect opportunity to set things right… how could he not take it?  
Marcus continued.

"I understand there will be occasions you will have to share some things about yourself but under no circumstances should you ever reveal the whole truth. Believe me, the repercussions could be disastrous!"

Chris understood the rationale but still did not respond. Flashes of memory… of a past life when his mother was alive ran past his eyes until they watered and he couldn't see the Elder standing before him anymore. God how long has it been? Eight years and it still hurts.

_So much…  
_  
After Piper died, Wyatt went completely berserk and soon unmasked his evil side. The next day itself, he'd taken control of the book and the manor and effectively held Chris captive in his own home. Chris shuddered at the memories of pain and confusion and betrayal he'd felt. The poor boy was traumatized after helplessly witnessing his mother's gruesome murder and now this… his own brother turned against him.

Not that he was much of a brother to begin with anyway.

But Wyatt hated him so much he did not even let Chris see their dead mother! The fourteen year old didn't know how to organize a séance by himself. Many months later, Chris had gathered enough of his wits about him to plan and execute his escape and took to the streets, until grandpa Victor found him.

Victor wanted to take him away but Chris wouldn't leave. Even at that young age, the boy knew he couldn't not do anything to stop Wyatt and his rising dominion of evil. When Chris turned seventeen, Victor narrowly escaped an attempt on his life. Chris came so close to losing another person he dearly loved… and it almost completely screwed him up.

_Grandpa, didn't you say Europe was beautiful in the summer?_

Victor quietly rejoiced and made arrangements for them both to leave immediately. Only, Chris didn't leave.

For a whole year, Wyatt thought Chris had run away to another continent, and he couldn't figure who the hell was sabotaging his plans over and over again. When he realized it was Chris all along… he sent Bianca to kill him.  
  
Tremors shook Chris through until Bianca wrapped her arms around his emaciated waist. She was his anchor to the present. With her close, he could do anything.  
"Chris we don't have much time… have you decided?"

Chris grimaced.  
"Yes but I don't see how things could get any worse if I just…"

Marcus was running out of patience. He took two steps closer to Chris and hissed in his ear. "Don't you understand? Sending you back in time is our last hope Chris! There is a fine web of time that weaves one event together with another and its extremely delicate. We cannot risk disturbing it beyond what has now become absolutely necessary."

Beat.  
  
The Elder looked right then left, as if ensuring no one was eavesdropping in the deserted doorway.  
"I am not supposed to say much. But I believe you deserve to know this. The end began when Wyatt turned evil. We can trace all our troubles back to some time within the first two years of Wyatt's existence. Save Wyatt… and you save the world Chris. You… save… everyone…"

Chris' eyes widened. Was the Elder saying what he thought he was saying?  
  
Marcus stepped back, satisfied.  
"You have the Council's blessings Christopher. Look for the Inverted Hourglass spell in the Book of Shadows and think back to the moment the Titans attacked the Manor. I'm sure you'll think of what to do next to earn the sisters' trust."

Marcus kept backing away.

Chris wanted him to stay and tell him more but he wouldn't.  
"Remember Chris," he said, orbing away. "Future Consequences."  
  
And he was gone. But his words rang clear in the young man's ears.  
_Save Wyatt… and you save the world Chris. You… save… everyone…_  
  
**_-----x x-----_**

**__**  
  
**--- PIPER ---  
**  
_"hear these words, hear my cries " _

There it is… the spirit winds are so heavy tonight. He is calling me.  
  
My little boy has had a rough couple of days hasn't he? And this night is not gonna be easy either, if anything… tonight would probably be the worst. The culmination of his treacherous journey through time and space… life and death and the pitiless hollow in between. This is the series finale to my Chris' little adventure. Tonight… it ends.

I am going to make sure it _does_ damn it!  
  
_"spirits from the other side" _

Leo sits beside me, holding my hand. He hears the call and his hands clutch mine tighter, looks at me with a beseeching in his eyes.

"What do you intend to tell him?"

I… I don't know.

What can I say? I only have the truth… I only have what my inconsolable fourteen-year-old once so succinctly described as "all that stupid destiny bullshit" and is about to do so again.

Don't tell me… if I thought that first time around was difficult, I so do not know what's in store for me tonight right? Well, I am not making the same mistakes again. Grams was right. After Pru died, I would call and call to her so I could see her once more… just one last time. I wanted to talk to her, apologise to her… touch her, hold her, cry in my big sister's arms all night and probably the rest of the month.

She didn't come.

She practically raised me and Phoebe, and when I needed her the most… she ignored me. She was so cruel. And it was for the best, I know that now. It was so I could move on… the strength I once drew from Pru, I now needed to find within myself. I needed to accept her passing, get on with my own life.  
  
And so does Chris.  
  
_"come to me i summon thee"_

Yes. I'm coming Chris. Coming to deliver very bad news my son. Do not rush so. Because I am not going to say the words you're so desperate to hear. I am not coming to you in the form you know… the form you could touch and hold, maybe another time my sweet darling. Not tonight.

"The Elders should have told him before he went back."

Leo sighed. We've had this conversation a thousand times before.

"Chris was sent back to prevent Wyatt from turning evil. It was only his assumption that in the process he could prevent… other things from happening too."

"You should have _told_ him."

And now he shakes his head. He knows I hate it when he does that. Ghosts have very limited tolerance for condescending ex-whitelighters, I should know.  
  
_"cross now from the great divide." _

Out of time.

This young man who sacrificed his life, his world, his love… every meager thing he once had to save the world… save his older brother. How do you tell him that all he ever asked for in return… was the one thing he could never get to begin with? Forgive me Chris, forgive me for what I am about to do. Leo would wait for me right here, where its not so heavenly and peaceful anymore. Tonight, no where is. And wont be until my baby stops hurting inside.  
I rise.  
  
**-----x PIPER POV Ends x-----**

****

****

If his heart could beat any faster, it would explode. Chris knew that, his mouth slightly open as he breathed through in big gasps as if he'd run a marathon. And then the spell was spoken. He waited.

Cool breeze blew in from the open windows sending curtains aflutter. The wind chimes Phoebe loved so much rang out and candles flickered… all that special effect stuff. Chris concentrated on the spot between the four squarely placed candles. Any… any moment now…  
  
A glowing silhouette appeared, illuminating the cold dark attic… standing in perfect ghostly composure facing her summoner. The winds dropped almost of a sudden and chimes fell silenced. As did everything else.  
… "Hello Chris."

That voice, that sorta cynical, always questioning timbre… and the eerie echoing in the background he didn't remember hearing before. …  
  
Chris's hands were glued to the book, his feet to the spot by the book and his rapidly beating heart had now stopped. He thought back to the yesterday he vaguely remembered happening sometime yesterday but he wasn't so sure anymore. He remembered a heavily pregnant Piper hugging him, bidding him goodbye.

_Thank you for coming here  
I love you._  
  
And he looked at the shadow before him. Serene, calm, right eye brow hiked up as usual… all hunky dory really.  
He swallowed. Willed his mouth open, forced the only word he could think of out.

"M-Mom."

"Welcome home son."

Chris moved, and went closer to where his dead mom stood. He wanted to touch her, hold her, cry in her arms for the rest of the night… at least. But as he came nearer he noticed she wasn't in the solid form he _knew_ she could assume.  
"Why aren't you…" "Not tonight Chris."

Chris was hurt, he was hurting so much. He halted mid-step, crossed his arms and gripped himself tightly. Panic and paranoia set in.  
"You're angry with me I know. I'm so… so sorry mom, I thought… I thought you wouldn't be dead when I got back…"

Piper only smiled.  
"Why would I be angry with you darling? I am very proud of you."

_Proud of me?? Why_

And still she sounded so… unaffected? Didn't she realize what had happened? What he was going through? Tears threatened but he angrily gulped them away.  
  
"Things are not supposed to be like this anymore. You're supposed to be alive and aunts Paige and Phoebe are supposed to be here in the manor with their families and..."

"And lemme guess, Wyatt is supposed to be evil, right?"

"What?" Chris faltered, utterly rebuked.

"N-No… of course not."

Piper sighed dramatically, she still wasn't too bothered.

"My darling, you did change the future. Stop thinking that you failed because you didn't! Look around you, look at this manor your home… where were you living the last time you were in 2026 huh?"

Chris sniffed, not liking his mother's indifference to his agony.  
"Sure I remember, in an abandoned Corvette downtown parked by a dumpster."

For less than a moment, Chris thought he saw Piper's face melt, only it didn't. She simply shrugged and threw him a lopsided smile.  
  
"Hence proved! Wyatt: Not evil. World: Not going to the dogs. On the contrary we're in excellent state of affairs right now with the Power of the Progenies executing their responsibilities brilliantly. That's you and your brother Chris."

Chris was still reeling from her coldness.  
"But… what about you?"  
Piper kept her expression neutral. Bored.  
"I was not part of the deal and you know that."

Chris shook his head in disagreement.  
"The Elders… they said if I could save Wyatt then…"

"They said no such thing, it was you who made false assumptions. Some things are meant to happen Chris. No matter what you do, you cant change them."

…

Deathly silence, broken only by Chris' ragged breathing. Piper shook her head appraisingly. "Chris we've had this conversation before. I really wish you'd stop suppressing your memories. You know I could conserve a lot of energy if you'd just recall everything and I don't have to repeat myself!"

The boy flinched.  
"I'm sorry to disappoint you mother. Guess I'm still feeling betrayed by the fucking powers that be. Again. And the fact that… you are still…"

Piper flicked her hair back.  
"Dead! I know! Been so for eight years now thank you very much. And do you hear _me_ complaining?"

Chris looked away, biting his trembling lower lip, a tear threatening to roll down his cheek. Then he heard her snort.  
  
"Oh no, you're not _whining_ your way out of this one son."

And the sob escaped.  
"I wasn't…"

"That is all you've done ever since you got back! You should be thanking your brother Wyatt but all you do is attack him. You should be greeting your father with respect and all you do is question who his favorite son is in this world!"

Chris was dumbstruck, indignant.  
"That's not true. I was just… I just…"

"Just what?"

The tear did fall and Chris wiped it off urgently. He couldn't understand why Piper was being so cruel but decided to put up a brave defensive.  
"I just want you alive damnit! Is that too much to ask to have a mother who's not DEAD??"

Piper folded her arms and shook her head in exasperation.  
"And how many times do I have to tell you some things are meant to be Chris! You cannot change them no matter how many times you travel back in time. Piper Halliwell was supposed to die when she did, in every world!"

"WHY? WHY DAMN YOU?"

Chris screamed, he lashed out at the book and sent it flying across the floor. The little attic reverberated with his anguish.  
  
Piper just stared, and waited… for him to calm down. When she spoke next, she was somber and the ghostly echo much more pronounced. It sent shivers crawling up the boy's spine.

"Chris you need to accept my passing and move on with your life. Its for the best, believe me." Chris wheezed.  
"I don't. I cant…"

Piper's expression turned to stone. She did not react. The silence stretched an eternity while Chris struggled to get his breathing under control.

"It… it was my fault. I should have been strong enough to protect you and I wasn't. And the one person who was strong enough… wasn't around. And he should have! If he wasn't evil… he should have been there when..."

Piper interrupted his ramblings without heart.  
"Do you know what would have happened if Wyatt had been there that night?"

Chris crossed himself tightly and looked up at the ghost of his mother with… dread. And Piper broke it to him as gently as possible.  
"I'd still be dead Chris."

_What? No… _

"No. That's not true."

"It is. Wyatt couldn't have saved me either. And if he'd been there, seeing me die would have broken him! His powers would have spiraled out of control Chris. He would have destroyed the manor with his wrath and his pain!"

The boy was shocked. He shook his head in denial, vehemently.  
"You're lying."

"No I'm NOT! Listen to me!"  
  
Piper's own shroud of composure seemed to be cracking.  
"If the manor falls, the nexus is left unprotected, exposed to all kinds of evil monsters just waiting to feed from its power! All hell would break loose if that ever happened Chris don't you ever forget that."

Chris cringed.

"I'm so… sorry you had to see me die. But try and understand Chris, it had to be you because you're _stronger_ than Wyatt."

Chris stifled a whimper and laughed. Like a madman.  
_Oh God. Why is she doing this to me_

He looked at her with undisguised distrust. Piper was slowly but firmly stripping all his walls down… all his guards that he'd been hiding behind and under. How could this be? How could he have done _nothing _wrong?

"You know you cant fool me with this act of yours mom. I know you love me, I know you could never not care!"

Piper did not respond, nor did she deny him. He nodded unconsciously to himself and moved closer to her periphery of candles.  
  
"You're just saying all this so I'd stop being this deranged resident schizo and leave everyone the hell alone."

Piper pressed her eyes close, but he went on.  
"Guess what mom, in this other life of mine? Being _paranoid_ was what kept me _alive_! How can you expect me to forget what that bastard did to me? To my best friends, the _only_ friends I ever had? And to Bianca? I CANT FUCKING FORGET DAMN IT!!"

Then silence.

Piper waited for him to say more and he did, but this time he wasn't screaming. He lowered his head, hiding his weeping eyes from Piper.

"After you died, my world fell apart. Everyone went berserk. Leo, Wyatt, Phoebe, Paige… together they trashed the Underworld, killed everything that so much as moved! They became different people and I didn't even recognize them anymore. I… probably would have done the same… don't know." 

Piper hadn't known about his previous life in so much detail, she was slowly approaching shock at what Chris had endeavored.  
  
"Wyatt put me under house arrest. He didn't even let me attend your funeral."

Piper was taken aback.  
"What?"

Chris nodded absently.  
"He locked me up in my room, said I'd be less trouble there. Food and water would just… appear out of nowhere. At least he didn't want me starving to death. But for days, no one came to see me, or ask how I was doing. They were… they were all too busy… avenging your death."

Chris sniffed, his memories sharp and painful. "Then… the aunts left. Dad… I kept calling to him, hoping he'd come get me but he didn't. I found out much later Wyatt had blocked me out so Dad could never hear me call at all!"

Piper softly gasped.

"He hated me. For… the same reasons I hated myself. I, I l-let you die mom."

"Chris that's not true!"

"Eight years I believed it was! For eight years, I blamed myself. Eight years, Wyatt cursed me and hated me and punished me because he believed it was true! Part of me held him responsible and blamed him too, he was _evil_ after all. He _had _to be the one at fault right? For eight long years, I have wished for nothing but some way to _fix_ it! For you to be _not_ dead! Why is that too much to ask mom?"  
  
Piper winced, swallowing her own tears of rage and shock. "Chris, I… I didn't know, I'm sorry."

Chris shook his head slowly, from side to side. "I would have done what the Elders asked in any case. Why did he lie to me mom? Why did Marcus give me false hope that… I could fix this?"

His knees refused to support him and the boy crumpled to the floor, his legs folded beneath him. He held himself by the middle and bent forward towards the floor as if to stem the life-draining agony in his heart. Tears flowed unabated, from his eyes and his voice. His wheezing breaths.  
…

"Why?"

-----

Piper Halliwell had been dead eight years. Her soul now resided in the higher dimensions that humans called Heaven. But if you ask the soul, she wouldn't be much inclined to call it heaven at all. How could it be? When the bonds of human relations and love and maternity still tied her to the mortal plane? How could she rest in peace when she could feel her children's pain and suffering so acutely in her undead heart?  
She wished she could blow up the Marcus from Chris' old world to pieces and over again. Fists bunched by her sides in sheer torturous resolve not to run to the grieving boy and take him in her arms. The winds grew stronger with every tremble she clamped down on and chimes cried in her stead.  
  
"Chris… darling look at me…" 

Chris quietly wept where he sat on the floor, and did not look up. The confession had taken every last ounce of energy he had.

"Forget Marcus… look at me baby… look at me."

Piper kneeled before the boy, and held him by his shoulders. She could touch him, he couldn't. Chris looked up, bravely bit his lip to stop himself from crying.  
  
"Everyone has a destiny Chris. Mine was to be a Charmed One… and I lived it to the fullest. I have no regrets. None."

There was spiritual conviction in her eyes, and Chris felt subtly at peace to see that.  
"The Power of Three had its time. But nothing can last forever baby you know that. We had to give way… to something bigger and stronger… the Power of the Progenies. It was meant to be."

Chris grimaced.  
"Don't you think you deserved better? That aunt Phoebe deserved better than to have to flee the country and swear never to set foot in the house she grew up in? And what about aunt Paige mom? Did… did she deserve to lose her mind? Her sanity… her love?"

Chris was losing it again. Piper made to run an wraithlike hand through his hair but Chris unconsciously shied away. He couldn't explain himself why he did so.

"God how do I explain this to you. Things… all things good and bad, happen for a reason. And the reason may not be obvious to you right now but you need to put your trust in the universe my darling. There is a purpose greater than you and me, than all of us. And we all must live and die for it."

The boy shook his head.  
"Its not fair."

He refused to be convinced. Piper could see that.  
  
Beat.  
  
"Phoebe will be pregnant next month."

_What?  
_  
"What?"

Piper tried touching his hair again, he did not back away this time.

"Forty years from now, Phoebe Halliwell's third daughter Melinda Stanford will become the first President of the Nation of Earth United. She will be crucial to the planet and its well-being Chris, and she couldn't possibly be born if Phoebe were still a practicing witch. Wanna know why?" 

Chris just… held his breath. Piper added softly, "Because she wouldn't have lived long enough, if she'd stayed here in Frisco."

And he let go.

…

"Melinda will be helped in her cause by three magical prodigies your aunt Paige will be mentoring in her Magic School. Without Paige, the future of magic is as good as forsaken. Paige will be a wonderful Elder, Chris. She is going to be _worshipped_ by witches everywhere."

Chris just… gaped at her. She chuckled softly.  
"No exaggerating. Really. Don't look at me like that, if you bothered to drudge up your new world memories, you'll remember we've had this conversation before you know."

The pain in Chris' heart did not fully subside. But somehow it became easier to… to breathe? He swiped at another stray tear now trickling down his neck.  
"And you…? What about you?"  
  
Winds dropped ever so slightly, the chimes still rang, albeit softly. Piper's pale white dress shimmered about her.  
"Me… I get to be with my Grams! And _your_ Grams, and Pru… life goes on Chris. In one dimension or another… you're never really dead you know. Pru needed my help in one of the other worlds when I joined her. There's enough action to keep me busy you know."

The pseudo-cheery tone had returned in her voice.

"Besides, I will be known as _your _mother for all time to come Chris. The Power of the Progenies came from me didnt they?"

Chris graced her efforts with a sad smile. He straightened up a bit.

_Don't you miss us? Don't you want to be with your children?_

Chris longed to accuse her of not caring, but he couldn't do that. Instead, he looked away and tried to stem his tears. This was getting embarrassing.

"I do miss you, both of you…"

Chris looked up at her, and looked away.

"I wish I could be there for you, whenever you need me. But then I see Wyatt doing such a good job of brother, father _and_ mother to you…"

Piper smiled ever so proudly. "and I know I can relax, somewhat."

Chris almost pouted, stood and turned his back to her. Piper stood up slowly and kept her distance. Her boy stood rigid and quivering, there was simply too much to process and he wasn't thinking straight enough. Now that his mother had revealed how her death had been pre-destined, he couldn't even blame himself _or_ Wyatt anymore. He'd managed to save this world, Wyatt was not evil. The manor was still his home…  
  
"Chris…"

Chris sniffed, he didn't know what to say. The feeling of helplessness that had plagued him ever since he'd come to this world was still there. Muted, but still there.

"Stop fighting your brother, you have no reason to be afraid of him anymore." 

Now he knew what to say.

"Did you know he's still got a bunch of assassin witches working for him?"

"He is converting them over to our side. Leo asked him to."

Chris felt like a fool. But he pressed on anyway.  
"They're assassins for God's sake! And he can kill people just by blinking at them! Doesn't anyone else see how dangerous he can be to everyone?"  
  
Piper's demeanour immediately turned to ice again.  
"You are scared."

Chris went stiff at that. "Yes, yes I am."

"oh Chris…"

Piper sighed, closed her eyes for a bit and Chris threw his hands up in the air.  
"I just… mom its just…"

"Too good to be true?"

Chris bit his lip. That was the perfect summarization of what he felt, yes.

"Its true my darling. Its what you went back for. This world is your gift to us! We have you to thank for everything my son. And that's why I am so so proud of you!" 

Chris simply lowered his head. Piper put a finger below his chin and made him look up at her. "That old world of yours was a humongous aberration. A cosmic mistake that you were born to correct! You helped create this beautiful world and you were destined to do so Chris."

Chris smiled now.  
"Guess my work is done then. What do I have left to live for?"

Piper's heart broke. In that instant her form materialized and she hurriedly pulled Chris into her arms. Chris took a moment to get over his surprise and hugged her back fervently.

"My sweet baby… I love you so much."

Rush of relief, and peace and tears.  
"I love you too mom."  
  
A long while later, Piper pried herself away from him and looked into his eyes.

"Chris… you're holding _yourself_ under house arrest this time son. You need to find the courage to unlock your new memories. And you need to do it soon, before its too late."

Chris frowned at that.  
"Too late for what?"

"Everyone has a role to play in the grand scheme of things. And yours hasn't ended yet. Actually, it may have just _begun_. You cant keep running any more Chris."

…

_"Your Destiny still awaits."_

…  
  
Breathing became an ordeal again, soon as he realized Piper was about to leave.  
"Wait… don't go please."

"I have answered all your questions Chris. There is nothing more I can do for you. Let me go son."

Chris trembled and his eyes watered.

_Just like that?_

"Blessed Be."

With that, the luminous form of the Charmed one slowly faded away while Chris could do nothing but watch. The winds stirred strongly and windows flew open… then shut close. The four candles blew out, throwing the Halliwell attic into perfect darkness.  
  
And Chris knew he was alone.

* * *

**(TBC)**

Nope, not the end yet :) Hey I know it got too angsty but I promise its going to get better now :) What do you think? Hope you guys are still reading this?

* * *

****

**----SPOILER STARTS---- SPOILER STARTS----**

Reading some of the reviews I realized the story I have in mind might disappoint some of you :( and for that I am sorry… maybe I'll write a happier one after this. And hopefully you would like this one for what it is as well.

Piper is not coming back. Sorry.

I suppose there's gotta be a meaningful reason why Piper died in the first place…. There should be a greater purpose to why anything happens at all right? I've written my take on it and its up to you guys to decide if its convincing or not.

There is time travel somewhere close to the end… but its not to save Piper.

**----SPOILER ENDS---- SPOILER ENDS----**


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

**Cyn**: Hi people!! Thank you everyone for your kind words and wonderful reviews!! I couldnt have made any time for completing this if you guys werent so encouraging and awesome. Really :)

I've been making you cry way too much eh? :) kay this one's pretty much like an interlude. Hpe you like it!

**Sailorwind**: You're right Grams didnt know much, but I sorta wanted Piper to know enough to be able to make Chris understand and find peace in his new world. Besides hey, she is a Charmed one :) She's bound to be extraordinary even as a ghost right? ;)

**Emma**: A quicker update this time... relatively! :D

On with the story...

* * *

Chris stood at the center of the attic in a continuing daze. He felt drained, empty…

The flipside to traits as being _focused_ and _driven_ to fulfill a mission, is that once the mission is accomplished, or… taken away… there seems to be nothing left to go on for. No purpose, no goal, no meaning to life… and you agonise with a loss of self-worth and value, until a new mission comes along.

But it wasn't just _a_ mission was it? It was… an intense need, a desperation beyond words that drove him to try and right the wrongs and once again see his family happy and prosperous and… alive. To the boy, there seemed no apparent reason to exist any more really. Except his mother's words that continued to echo through his soul…

_Your destiny still awaits._

With his mother _departed_, Chris slowly became aware of certain physicalities like the growing chill in the attic. And the fact that his temples throbbed and his throat felt scratchy and dry. How long had he been standing here in the dark?

Chris managed not to stumble down the stairs as he made his way to the kitchen and got himself a glass of iced water. Walked slowly and lowered himself onto a couch in the living room then pressed the chilled glass to his aching forehead. That's how Wyatt found him, fifteen minutes later.  
Wyatt walked in from outside, after seeing off a messenger from the Underworld. Shut the door behind him with a casual flick of his right hand and turned to find his brother, lost deep in thought.

"Chris?"

The boy looked up. For a split second, there came a wildness to the limpid brown eyes, and then miraculously, it was gone. Wyatt waited, having learnt the hard way to first guage Chris' mood and which way it was likely to swing before he made another move…

"H-Hi."

And that's all the boy said, going back to staring at the carpet.

Wyatt was getting increasingly concerned at the diminutive behavior. Chris had been nothing but unpredictably whimsical these past two days but this sudden calmness was new and quite… unsettling.  
"Are you okay?"

Chris, half-dazed and forlorn, looked up at Wyatt.

_He's different. He's not evil._

The length of golden unruly hair was the same, the height and breadth were all the same. Wasn't dressed in black from head to toe as before, blue denims instead. Quite placid really. The eyes… were not manic with rage at anything and everything. They were radiant, determined… concerned. And now that he was _truly_ paying attention, Chris also noticed the slight beginnings of white at the corner of Wyatt's temples, minute but there.

"Your hair's going grey."

Wyatt started. Right eye brow went up high and it reminded Chris of… Piper.

"Well, yeah… probably because of the force field for the manor, takes a lot out of me to put it up, then take it back down you know… or maybe its just plain worry ever since… umm, are you alright?"

"I am. Yeah. Very much. Thank you."

And Chris went back to staring at his glass of water. Wyatt inched in closer and when Chris did not bolt, he slowly kneeled down right in front of Chris.  
"You spoke to mom?"

"Yeah."

The adam's apple in Wyatt's throat did a little dance which amused Chris.

"She… she alright?"

"Yeah, she's great! Yeah. Lots of action and… stuff."

The boy nodded almost absently.

"Good. Good."

And Wyatt lowered his eyes, wondering if he should push for more information on what exactly had transpired.

"What did you do with Brian?"

The question startled him and Wyatt looked up with a slight frown. And Chris now looked as if he was regretting throwing out the question. The boy bit his lip. Wyatt drew a sigh and looked him in the eye.

"I fired him, obviously."

"And?"

"And… what?"

Chris shook his head in disbelief, but his voice was low and hesitant.  
"That's it? You j-just let him go af-after what he did?"

Wyatt tilted his head to one side, straightened up where he knelt so now he was on eye level with Chris.  
"I didn't hurt him… _too much_ Chris, if that's what you're asking."

Chris grimaced.  
"No broken bones, just bruised ones. Although he deserved much _much_ worse."

Chris saw his brother's face cloud a bit with suppressed anger. But his words sounded honest.  
"I wont lie to ya kid, I wanted to hurt him. Bad. He almost got you killed and God knows if they had succeeded… "

Wyatt gritted his teeth and looked away. Chris sighed. Of course.

_If they had, it would have been an encore of eight years ago. You and dad and the aunts would have vanquished everything and everyone responsible, wiped out half the underworld… for me._

_Oh God… I'm glad he didn't kill Brian but if it were the other way round, wouldn't I have killed him for almost getting my brother assassinated??_

The brothers sat in silence, each lost in own thoughts. Wyatt was the first to come to, and throwing caution to the wind he reached out and pulled Chris into a gentle hug. Chris continued to hold the glass of water in both his hands.  
He didn't mind, but like all other times that Wyatt had held him close, he felt nothing. The first time, at least there was fear and suspicion. Now, there was simply nothing… that is except a sudden gathering feeling of complete exhaustion.

"Wyatt?"  
Wyatt let go of him, fearing an admonishment for crossing the line or something.

"Y-Yeah."

"I'm tired, could you like, orb me to my room?"

Wyatt got up in a rush.  
"Sure. I'll come with… that is, if its okay with you?"

Chris raised his eyebrows once in affirmation.  
"Okay."

Wyatt put a hand on his brother's shoulder and together they disappeared in shimmering orbs. Wyatt orbed Chris so he was now sitting on his bed with the same glass of water in his hand. Wyatt sat down next to him. He noticed the water wasn't chilled anymore, and tiny droplets condensed on the outside were falling onto and wetting Chris' knees.

"Are you done with this?"

Chris then became aware of where they were and also of the utensil, which Wyatt took from his hands and placed on the nightstand. The older man couldn't resist raising a hand and placing it on Chris' forehead, just to check he was _really_ okay. Chris' first instinct was _not_ to flinch away. Or maybe he was too tired to bother, he didn't know.

And it didn't matter. Wyatt assured himself there was no fever and pulled back the covers. Chris stepped out of his shoes and nearly collapsed into place, then pulled up the covers over himself. Wyatt sat down by him and adjusted the sheets with such familiarity as if he'd done it a thousand times before.

Chris just continued to stare at him, his graceful moves, his face creased with lines too old for someone so young. This was the face he had once feared, loathed. Could the fear be replaced so easily with trust? The hate with love?

_He's different. He's not the same._  
He thought back to his last moments in the past when Leo had asked him not to hold a grudge against Wyatt.

_He is going to be good. He is not going to remember being evil._

_I'm trying dad. I really am._

"You need anything else?"

Chris shook his head. Wyatt smiled, gently brushing hair back from the boy's face.

"So, lemme know if you wanna talk okay?"

Chris bit down a laugh… yeah right. Talk to Wyatt of all people about his problems when Wyatt was the _Source_ to begin with.

_Pun so NOT intended!_

The boy nodded non-committally.  
"By the way… Lindsey called."

_Lindsey? I am supposed to know this name?_

"She was asking how you were doing, wanted to speak to you."

_oh Lindsey! Yeah course I know her! She was seeing Wyatt when I was seeing… Dr. Rydill._

And Chris smiled.  
"After all these years Wyatt, you cant still think she calls to talk to me?"

Wyatt frowned in mock ignorance.  
"You know she misses you. And you miss her too."

_I am not making this up right? How do I know all this?_

Wyatt smiled, and rolled his eyes.  
"Go to sleep champ. We'll talk in the morning."

With that he got up from the bed and after taking one last look at Chris, switched off the lamp.  
"Night."

Wyatt left but Chris found himself assured he wouldn't go too far. And then he started – why did he _need_ that assurance in the first place? Chris was infamous for his fierce independence and self-sufficiency. But this world was rapidly seducing him into letting his guards down and depending on others… on _Wyatt_ of all people for… for everything.

"Good night. Wyatt."  
The door closed and the boy realized he had no strength left to contemplate or worry anymore this night. Chris fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Wyatt could have jumped in joy, he couldn't and wouldn't stop smiling as he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

_He's going to be okay._

The twenty four year old was extremely relieved and happy to finally see progress being made on the Chris front. He couldn't wait to tell Leo about it. The sleeping boy had given him another big reason to smile tonight… had confirmed what he'd suspected for awhile, but his self-doubts had made him not too willing to believe it. Lindsey had seen a few guys off and on after they split up but nothing serious ever came out of those flings. Similarly, Wyatt dabbled in a few flirtations but… really he'd never found the same love and companionship in any other woman after Lindsey.

_Maybe I should give her a call tomorrow… like, tell her Chris is okay now or somethin._

_Jeez, Chris is so right! We're both using him as an excuse to hold on. Maybe its time I stopped hiding behind my little brother. _

Wyatt chuckled to himself. The reason he was heading toward the kitchen was so he could finish the new potion he was working on to restore Chris' powers. As he reached the kitchen, he could see a pale shadow moving among the greenery in the garden. Floating really. And his smile grew wider, if that were at all possible.

"Thanks mom!"

Wyatt exclaimed, hugging his mother from behind while she watered her favorite herbs. Piper bit back a coy smile and let Wyatt engulf her, then put down the water sprinkler and turned toward him.

"How is he?"  
Wyatt nodded gratefully.  
"Thanks to you, I think he might well be on his way back. To us."

Piper sighed.

"The poor boy is still so lost Wyatt. You have to understand where he comes from, you're not exactly the father figure that you are here, in this world."

Wyatt's smile dropped.  
"I know that, I know he's trying real hard to start trusting me. There is hesitation, but tonight there was also a… a willingness to give me a chance."

Piper caressed his cheek gently.  
"It might not be over yet."

"What? Why do you say that?"  
Piper stared at him squarely.  
"I am not trying to screw your happiness baby. … I just want you to be prepared in case there is a relapse or something."

Wyatt's eyes narrowed.  
"Why would there be a relapse? Things should only get better now."

Piper did not respond, just went back to her task of watering the plants. Wyatt waited, then gave up.

"You know I really hate it when you do this."

"Do what?" she inquired innocently.

"This! You drop teensy little hints and leave me to figure out the rest in due course of time! Why don't you just come clean with the whole deal and save me a lot of running around?"

Piper tried not to laugh.

"Okay, is it just you or do all ghosts get their kicks out of hassling mortals?"

This time she didn't stop herself.

"Stop being melodramatic and tell me, how are my sisters doing?"

Wyatt just resigned himself to not getting any more answers from his dead mother. Wouldn't be the first time either. He sat on a cane table nearby and told her about Paige and how she didn't shy from physical contact this time around. Piper smiled mildly, overcome with emotion. At least she could visit Paige whenever they felt like seeing each other. Her other sister was a different matter.

"And… Phoebe?"  
Wyatt's voice dropped a notch.

"She… she let me orb her to the club to talk to Chris yesterday."

"Yeah, I heard. Cool huh."

And they shared a quiet moment of small but meaningful victory.  
"Maybe someday she wouldn't find it so painful to set eyes on my shiny new self anymore."

Wyatt held out a hand to Piper which she took and held firmly.  
"Amen to that."

Mother and son composed themselves. Piper sat next to him on the table.

"So did you find out about who's the new Source on the block?"

Wyatt's face suddenly took over a hardness and concentration that usually never surfaced when among friends and family.

"From everything I've heard, its seeming more and more likely the guy's a half-breed. Half upper-level demon and half vampire."

"Vampire?"

"Yeah, but apparently has none of the usual vampiric weaknesses. Many have tried to get him the usual way – sunlight, garlic and stuff… nothing works."

"He sure works fast - organizing and uniting an underworld that's been in shambles for the last four years in just a month. He controls the phoenixes too now doesn't he?"

"Yeah. I'll personally fry him for sending the bastards after Chris."

Wyatt shook with rage and this time his mother slipped an arm around his, comforting him with her nearness.  
"You do that, for you and for me."

Wyatt looked down at her resolute face, and mutely nodded once.

Piper thought for awhile. Obviously the villain wasn't in the book, the next best place to start digging should probably be with the Elders.

"I'll run upstairs and see what I can find."

"Thanks mom."

Piper just pulled a face and got up. Then she pretended like she had just thought of something else.

"By the way, did you find something to restore his powers?"

Wyatt winced sheepishly.

"Not yet."

"Good."

_What?_

"Good?"

Piper turned away.

"MOTHER?"

Piper sighed again

"That relapse I was talking about? It's a real possibility Wyatt, Chris could seriously hurt you if he lashed out in anger and right now, we cant afford any of you to be out of commission for a minute! Besides, I don't want the Progenies using their powers on each other. You know what happened the last time the Charmed Ones ending up attacking each other."

Wyatt remembered. This was when Prue was alive and the sisters were all under demonic influence. They had not just lost their powers but almost got themselves vanquished by the big bad-now-good-now-bad-again-good-again Balthazar.

Everyone knew _that_ story. Wyatt gave it a moment's thought and no more.

"He'll know I'm stalling and all this progress we've made will go waste. No mother, I don't wanna lie to him."

Piper sighed. "Okay, where are you with the potion?"

The wince returned.

"It bombed, thrice now. I don't know what I'm doin wrong."

Piper bit her lip and Wyatt realized skewed his eyes.

"You're not going to help me are you?"

"Baby like I said…"

Wyatt got up and paced in agitation.

"Fine. Don't! Aunt Paige promised to google the school library for me. She never turns me down."

And he accusingly glared at his mother.

Piper smirked and got up too. She picked up the watercan where she'd left it, emptied and put it back in place. Then spun around to face her oldest son.

"Alrightie then, see ya."

"Wait, you really wont help at all?"

Piper huffed, turned away then back again.

"Our powers are linked to our emotions remember?"

Wyatt blinked.

Of course, and Chris' emotional state was in utter state of shambles right now. Suppressed emotions, suppressed powers!

Piper gradually went from corporeal to ethereal, her voice now a distant echo.

"I would wait… for the potential relapse to pass Wyatt… watch for it."

"Mom wait! How long?"

She faded away. And Wyatt threw his hands up exasperated.

"Man."

"Cranky huh?"

Wyatt recognized his father's voice behind him, and didn't bother to turn around. Just stood with his hands on his waist, staring at the spot his dead mom was not a second ago.

"I hate it when she does that."

Leo came forward, put a hand on his son's shoulder.  
"You know ghosts aren't really allowed to help mortals at all, they can only bend the rules a little or call in favors to guide you now and again. Course, your mother has lots of favors to call in."

Wyatt didn't find it amusing. He rubbed his eyes in response, hadn't slept a blink for two days.

"I know dad its just… I don't mind playing her little games usually, but not right now and not… not with this Chris situation. It gets onto my damn nerves, her withholding information I can use."

Leo sighed and changed the subject.  
"He sleeping?"

"Yeah. He seemed so… defeated after he spoke to mom. And yet in a way, relieved and a lot more…"

"Calmer?"

"Calmer. What did she say to him anyway?"

Leo just grimaced and shrugged. Wyatt recognized the expression.

"Not talking again? What happened?"

Leo squeezed his shoulder then made to go into the house.

"Don't worry about it. I'll go check up on Chris."

The Elder left Wyatt frowning in even more agitation. Now _both_ his dead parents were getting on his nerves.

* * *

Terence was having a very bad night.

Being a sole surviving Phoenix from the band sent to vanquish the Second Progeny isn't everything its cracked up to be. At all.

A humongous dark silhouette sprawled on its throne, adorned with skulls and bones of myriad species, some with flesh still rotting on them. It was the throne of the Source, and Terence knew enough to kneel, keep his forehead pressed into the ground and dare not look up.

"So…"

It… the _Source_… thundered, tapping ugly long nails on the armrest. Was that a sign he could get up? Best not take any chances, Terence continued to heel.

"The second witch has no powers you say?"

Terence trembled and slowly raised himself.

"Ye-yes m-my lord. He… he was weak and hel-helpless and we almost had him u-until…"

"Until Wyatt showed up."

The thunder increasing by decades of decibels at the cursed name. Iron knuckles cracked against each other.

"WYATT."

A sudden sharp clap of lightning followed.

For the smallest momest the dark dank netherworld lit up like a beacon and all the Source's minions shielded their eyes against the white light. A scream rang out and echoed in four directions, then it was gone.

By the time it got dark again and they could see, Terence was a pile of ash that the half-breed ruler trampled on when he got off his high throne in agitation.

"Phoenixes are useless. Get me the Seer."

The Second Progeny was at his most vulnerable right now, it… the _Source_… thought. Best make use of this Devilsend before that wretched brother of his _fixed_ him.

* * *

Paige grounded the second stick of black calendula and carefully extracted a pinch of the powder onto her now equally blackened palm.

"Move!"

And Wyatt shifted to allow his aunt by the electric cauldron that he'd been stirring all this while. He was exhausted and could barely stand or see, everything was a blur. He only hoped he hadn't made any mistakes but trusted Paige would have caught him if he did.

"Thanks for coming over aunt Paige."

Paige pulled a face at him, and went back to adding the last ingredient to the potion.

"Anything for my favorite nephew, you know that."

Wyatt nodded.

"Not me though."

Paige smiled oh so cutely at him. "Not you."

Wyatt chuckled. Together they watched as the mixture lost all its color and morph into a crystal clear liquid. Paige breathed in relief.

"There you go. Of course we cant be completely sure until you've tried it. _On Chris_. And he's gotta say this spell after taking it."

Paige handed him a slip of parchment with the spell. Wyatt read the words silently, nodded and pocketed it. Then he carefully bottled the concoction and thanked Paige again.

"Shut up Wyatt. And now you should go sleep. You look like a zombie."

She picked up her robe and donned it, getting ready to leave. Wyatt yawned widely.

"Yeah I know. Chris was pointing out all my gray hair to me. I bet the imp would be pleased to know he's responsible for every single white strand!"

Paige laughed.

"At least he's paying attention. Good to see you're getting some back kid."

Wyatt just smiled and lowered his eyes. Paige came over, gave him a quick hug and orbed out.

_Okay Chris. I got your powers right here with me._

Wyatt sealed the vial and leaned against the kitchen table staring at it.

_I would wait… for the potential relapse to pass Wyatt.  
Watch for it._

Exhaled long and hard, then placed the vial in the chest pocket of his blue denim shirt.

_I'm sorry bro. I cant fix you right now._

But that didn't mean he would let Chris walk into the world outside alone and unprotected. Wyatt planned to be as close to the boy as possible. Now that the Source knew Chris was sans his powers, the attempts on his life would increase. Which was why he was not completely convinced he was doing the right thing.

Two days, he decided. Not more than that. In these two days, he would try and show Chris as much of this new world as possible _inside _the protection of his force field. Somethings were bound to shake up his memories and force them to come to the fore. In two days, Wyatt planned to let his little brother know how much he _loved _him. And if there is a relapse, so be it. He'd be prepared this time.

Chris acted like no one had bothered to care for him in his old world, especially the way he'd shy away from or not react at all to physical proximities. A Chris that wasnt animated? Who wouldn't _not _talk for hours non-stop? It was a side of Chris that Wyatt had most trouble reconciling with.

Wyatt orbed back to the attic that was his bedroom. Normally he would climb the stairs telling himself he needed the exercise. But tonight he had no energy left to take another goddamn step. Once there, he put the potion and spell in a safe well-guarded by magic. Then pulled off his shirt and flopped face down onto the bed.

_You got two more days to throw a fit kiddo. After that… I'll just have to let you go._

The next logical thought to occur sent his eyes flying open. What if he chose to leave? Once he had his powers back, Chris would have no need to stay at the manor under his protection. What if Chris decided he couldn't bring himself to trust Wyatt at all and walked away?

Wyatt turned over and stared at his ceiling. He did not sleep for hours that night.

* * *

(TBC)

Not much happening I know, it sorta logically ends right here.. I think :) Please review and lemme know what you think??


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